It may not have won a medal, but the sensational run of the TTFI-1 men’s team – comprising one of the disputed factions of the Rajasthan Table Tennis Association (RTTA) – has created a stir at the 86th Senior National Table Tennis Championship.
The TTFI-1 men – including Shubham Ojha, Harsh Srivastava, Priyansh Bhati, Anukram Jain and Lakshya Toshniwal – first stunned Bengal to top its group and then marched into the quarterfinals to seal a direct entry for next year’s National Games, scheduled to be held in Chhattisgarh.
RTTA secretary Sanjay Gehlot expressed hope that the internal dispute could be resolved with the other faction, enabling their National Games aspirations to be fulfilled.
“The boys have worked extremely hard. To first qualify and then finish joint fifth is indeed incredible. We hope the TTFI (Table Tennis Federation of India) can help us resolve all the issues so that even the other team players can be considered for National Games selection,” Gehlot told Sportstar on Thursday.
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“Qualifying for the National Games is a huge achievement and honour for the Rajasthan table tennis fraternity. Hopefully, all the issues are put on the backburner at the earliest and players’ welfare prioritised.”
However, a TTFI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed doubt about whether the National Games officials would accept the TTFI-1 team as the official Rajasthan outfit.
“TTFI has always ensured players do not suffer for any reason and will continue to do so, but it will be difficult to convince the authorities in this peculiar situation if the National Games are held next year,” the official said.
Since two different factions have claimed to be the custodians of table tennis in Rajasthan, the TTFI has allowed both associations to field a team under its banner since the previous Nationals. The RTTA, which is affiliated with the TTFI, filed a petition against the other faction and the TTFI but withdrew it in September 2023.
The TTFI executive committee will be in a spot of bother should the other faction – or any of the other states – raise objections during the National Games.
The top 10 teams in the men’s and women’s team championships at the previous Nationals compete at the National Games. The singles main draws for men and women will commence on Friday.
