Mega table tennis event to be staged at Kandy

The South Asian Table Tennis Championship (SATTC) is going to be held at Sri Lanka this year. Currently International Table Tennis Federation ITTF Hope Developmental Programme is in progress in Sri Lanka. The event will be staged at the Jagath Rajapaksa
International Indoor Stadium located at Ganegoda in the Galaba – Nilambe range along Gampola Road, Kandy from 20 June to 23, 2011.

The championship was going to be held from 21 April to 28 but it was postponed due to some official unavoidable issues. Most of the teams were busy in the preparations for the World Championship going to be held in May. This will be the first mega table
tennis event going to be held at Kandy District, Sri Lanka. It will also be a tough challenge as all the teams from the south Asian region will be participating in the event.

This will be the inaugural event to be held in the newly constructed Jagath Rajapakshe International Table Tennis Stadium. The Vice President of Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka (TTASL) Mr Chandana Perera discussed the details with the ITTF officials
who are completely satisfied with tournaments details.

The teams from the eight South Asian countries India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan and Bhutan along with the host nation team Sri Lanka will be participating. There would a total of 160 table tennis players from the above eight countries.
The players will participate in team and individual men’s and women’s event, along with boys and girls participating in singles category.  

In the South Asian region the Indian team is on the top seed followed by the Sri Lankan team. The TTASL is expecting a tough competition amongst the top two teams during the championship.

The venue for the event is fully equipped with modern table tennis playing facilities. The indoor stadium can cater up to 24 playing tables according to the ITTF standards. Jagath Rajapakshe has spent nearly 30 million rupees on the construction of the stadium.
Jagath is a former table tennis player and is the current national table tennis coach of Sri Lanka.

The South Asian Table Tennis Championships in the past were held in different countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC). The last one was held at India in 2008. The first international event organised by the TTASL in the history
of table tennis in Sri Lanka will provide the table tennis players an exposure to the international table tennis circuit.

Kandy is an historical city of Sri Lanka; it is the most sacred city for the Buddhists. The city has been on fore front of table tennis in the past. Many top class players have emerged from the city and had the best coaching system of the country. In the
recent times there was a slump in the playing standards of the sport.  

The TTASL officials are hoping that Sri Lankan players will reach international playing circuit and will make their way to the ITTF ranking in the near future. A lot of positive activities have been in progress at the country which will facilitate the players
to improve their playing skills.