MUMBAI: The Executive Committee of the
International Table Tennis Federation
(
ITTF
) conducted a follow-up meeting in light of continued uncertainty caused by Covid-19 on Sunday, and arrived at a few decisions that will have a wide ranging impact on all parties invested in the sport.
All ITTF events and activities that involve international travel have been put on hold until June 30. New dates will be proposed for the 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships in the coming week. The EC also froze the ITTF rankings lists as of March 2020.
A statement released by ITTF stated that adjustments to the now postponed
Tokyo Olympics
and Paralympic Games qualification pathways will be worked upon once the new dates of the Games (July 23 to August 8, 2021) are announced.
While veteran paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal, who won the Oman Open in Muscat a couple of weeks ago before travel restrictions were enforced, praised the ITTF for being proactive, he is not sure whether the points he won for the triumph in Oman will be taken into account when the new rankings are announced.
"I am not sure whether the points that players won in Oman and Qatar will be taken into account, so I am a bit worried," Kamal told TOI on Monday. He is currently ranked 38th and was hoping to climb to 30th when the new rankings would have been announced.
"Now, it's a matter of wait and watch for all of us and I will hope for the best," added the 37-year-old, who represented
Chennai Lions
in Ultimate Table Tennis last season.
Nevertheless, he's hopeful that the 550 points (for the win) that accrue will be taken into account since the tournament was held in March itself.
Former national champion
Kamlesh Mehta
too is hopeful of things falling into place soon. "Historically, the ITTF has taken the views of all parties concerned before arriving at important decisions. I am sure that will be the case this time as well," said Mehta, who is now the director of UTT. "Similarly, they have been very proactive with the rankings system. I am sure they will take all factors into consideration," he added.