Bhubaneswar: Government of Odisha through its Department of Sports and Youth Services (DSYS) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and Odisha State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) to host the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship 2019, in Cuttack at the Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium from 17th - 22nd July, 2019. The MoU covered various obligations for the official conduct of the event.
Commissioner-cum-secretary, Sports and Youth Services Department, Odisha, Vishal K Dev signed the MoU with Senior Vice President, TTFI, S. N. Sultan and President, OSTTA, L.N. Gupta in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Minister for Sports and Youth Services TusharkantiBehera. Officials from all the three organising bodies were also in attendance.
Speaking on this occasion, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “Today’s MoU signing for hosting the 21st edition of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Cuttack is an important step for us in promoting sports and especially Table Tennis in the state. I congratulate TT Federation of India and the Odisha State TT Association for partnering with our Government in hosting this prestigious event. I hope this event will bring renewed focus on Table Tennis, in which India has been performing well in recent times. I extend my best wishes to the participating teams.”
Minister for Sports and Youth Services, Government of Odisha, Tusharkanti Behera, said, “This championship will see participation from some of the best players from across the globe. Indian paddlers have displayed unprecedented performance at the Asiad and Commonwealth Games in
2018 and the upcoming Championship will be exciting for all to watch. We look forward to welcoming the teams and its officials to Odisha.”
Commending the Odisha Government, Dhanraj Choudhary, Director, ITTF and Advisor, TTFI said, “Odisha, with its finest sports infrastructure and expertise has a global recognition today for hosting international sporting events of repute. We are thankful to the State Government for organising this six-day Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships. We are confident participants and spectators will leave with a positive experience.”
OSTTA President, L. N. Gupta, IAS, said, “Odisha TT team is ranked 10 in the country and an international Table Tennis event in the home state is very encouraging for our players. They will get to witness great games, skills and tactics which they can observe and leverage
in their individual performances. We are thankful to the State Government for taking a lead in promoting the sport."
The Tournament has received a good entry with 14 associations. The list of Commonwealth countries participating are as follows:
- India
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Bangladesh
- Sri Lanka
- England
- Scotland
- Wales
- Jersey
- Australia
- Cyprus
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
