'Chandra brought stature to TT in the country'

BENGALURU: Arjuna award-winning former India table tennis player V Chandrasekhar died at a private hospital in Chennai on Wednesday. His friends remembered him as an intelligent player who brought stature to table tennis in India.
"I am completely distraught by the news. He was my captain, I played against him, with him, shared rooms with him and my mentor.He was an attacking player who brought a new style of playing table tennis to the country. He paid out of his own pocket to train in Japan and came back and beat everybody in this country in the late 1970s.
He brought in the belief in the early 1980s that we could compete with the best in the world. More than anything else, Chandra brought stature to table tennis in this country.
He was somebody who could speak his mind, take on the administration, articulate well and used to write columns for mainstream newspapers and magazines in the 1980s. At a time when people were still debating whether sport is amateur or professional, he made it abundantly clear it can be professional.
He was singularly responsible for bringing money into the game. He was the first one to demand prize money. If Chandra got an appearance fee for playing a tournament, we would then demand a lesser fee, because Chandra demanded a fee, that's how he brought money into the game. He provided an opportunity to people to realise there is a career possible out of this sport. But he had a glorious sporting career nipped early."
Vasanth Bharadwaj: Former international player
"I lost a very close friend. We both worked in State Bank of India, stayed and travelled together for tournaments. He was an extraordinarily intelligent player much ahead of his time. He changed the face of the game and is one of the greatest players in our generation. He was well educated, a rare distinction during that time among sportspersons, with unbelievable talent. He was one of the few who could articulate well to the press and was like a spokesperson for the players. He had the courage and capacity to fight the system."

GK Vishwanath: Former National doubles champion & former Indian Junior team coach
"He is one of the most talented players I have ever seen. He used to play all types of strokes. He experimented with different types of rubbers and still beat everyone which is not an easy thing."
Bona Thomas John: Former international player
"During my three decades of active table tennis career, I have never seen such a player. A great person and a talented player. He won the National championships using three different types of rackets. We were together in the State Bank of India, we had a fantastic time playing together and against. He had this talent to come back from tough situations, fight back and win brilliantly. His demise is a great loss to the table tennis fraternity."
CR Anand: Former international player