NEW DELHI: The plan to restart the national table tennis camp is gathering pace. The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) have sent a mail to all registered players asking for their consent regarding starting the camp. Even though top Indian paddlers are eager to resume training, there are multiple concerns that need to be addressed first. It all started when TOPs contacted the top paddlers regarding restarting practice.
India’s top paddler A Sharath Kamal then had a discussion with the TTFI top brass and suggested SAI Bengaluru as the ideal place to train and whether that can be used for future national camps as well. Even TOPs seemed to be onboard with that suggestion. SAI centres in Kolkata, Sonepat and Indore were also part of the discussion but Bengaluru seems to be the preferred destination. On Wednesday, TTFI sent out an email to all players in this regard while mentioning August 1 as the start date for the camp.
While the dates might not be to everyone’s liking, the fact of the matter is that players need to play on the table, something which they have not done since the first lockdown in March. “An element of risk will always be there but we need to begin training at one point or the other. Zeroing in on the ideal location was the main issue and now hopefully, players will agree,” Sharath said. Quite a few paddlers were initially hoping for training to resume at their respective cities but as is the case in Chennai, no SAI facility will be open due to the rising number of cases.
Travel, accommodation and quarantine period are some of the things that need to be taken care of. “We all want to train. There is no doubt regarding that. But how will we travel to the chosen location? What about players who stay in high-risk areas? What sort of rooms will we be put up in? Will players need to quarantine themselves upon arrival? These concerns are important and safety is paramount. We need to discuss and find a common solution,” G Sathiyan added. Too many players will also prove to be counter-productive and hence the core players agreeing to be a part of the camp is the preferred scenario. The top players will now discuss and get back to the federation.