Guwahati: The first edition of the Table Tennis United Premier League will begin in the city from April 8. Nagen Hazarika Table Tennis Foundation will host the event.
Disclosing the news in a media conference the Secretary General of the Nagen Hazarika Table Tennis Foundation Manas Pratim Das said, "The main aim of this tournament is to take table tennis to a new height which was always a distant dream for the players of Assam."
The franchise based tournament will have 16 teams and around 250 players, including 24 top ranked paddlers from different parts of the country, will participate in it. The 3-day competition will be held in a six-game format which will begin with women's doubles and it will be followed by 1st singles, 2nd singles, 3rd singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles. The organizer has decided to offer each player and official with Health Insurance of Rs one lakh during the championship.
Das also added: "The top three finishers in the competition will receive cash awards and the amount will be finalized soon".
The media briefing was also attended by three former paddlers Gautam Hazarika, Ghritachi Hazarika Das and Madalasha Baruah. Sharing her thoughts on the proposed tournament Madalasha, the first women paddler from Assam to win junior National TT championship title, looked very optimistic. "Several top ranked players of the country will be a part of this tournament and I feel it will give good exposure to our young players," said Madalasha.
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