Shillong, Apr 1: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma yesterday confirmed that the postponed Senior National Table Tennis Championship will be held in Shillong from 18th to 25th April.
The nationals will take place at the Sports Authority of India’s Indoor Training Centre on the NEHU campus.
It was originally planned for 22nd to 29th January but was postponed by the Table Tennis Federation of India early that month because of the third wave of Covid-19 cases.
Meghalaya is expecting close to 650 participants, out of which 450 will be players and the rest will be coaches and support staff. Ten players from Meghalaya are expected to take part.
The cost of hosting this tournament is estimated at Rs 1.5 crore.
The idea was that the national event would help Meghalaya commemorate its 50th year of statehood.
Meghalaya had begun its camp in preparation for the championship in December.
Shillong has already had experience of hosting major table tennis events, such as the South Asian Games in 2016 and South Asian Federation Junior Table Tennis Championship in 2012. Both events took place at the JN Indoor Stadium, Polo.
“This is one of the biggest tournaments ever hosted in the state and will be the second biggest table tennis tournament held in the North East,” Sangma said on social media after meeting senior Meghalaya Table Tennis Association officials.
(Representative photo)