NEW DELHI, August 6: The Delhi Table Tennis Association (DTTA) will not conduct this year's National Sub-Junior and Inter-State Championships. The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) had allotted the championships to Delhi which was to hold it during December 7-14.DTTA organising secretary Hukam Singh cited `lack of sponsors' as the reason for declining the offer to host the championships.
The championships, in all probability, will now be held at Surat.
``The total expenditure in organising the eight-day tournament would have been around Rs 13 lakh. We would have received Rs three lakh from the central government (for organsing a national tournament) and another Rs three lakh would have come from the players/states through hospitality. But for the remaining Rs 7 lakh, we needed sponsors. But it is a pity that nobody was willing to put in that much amount for a sub-juniors tournament,'' Hukam Singh explained.
He further added that his association could not meet the demands of the parent body -- Table Tennis Federation of India -- which wanted hotel accommodation for the 500-odd players who will assemble here for the championships. ``Board and lodging itself would have cost us around Rs 8 lakh. It was beyond our means,'' he said.
It was in 1994 that Delhi last hosted the National sub-juniors championships.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
