National table tennis championships: Plight of umpires, doubles winners’ come to the fore

The decision of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) to raise the inflow of money by allowing an unlimited number of affluent players to pay and play in the National Championship has left the umpires dealing with an unprecedented challenge.

A record number of 456 entries in men’s singles, 312 in women’s singles, 77 in men’s doubles, 70 in women’s doubles and 137 in mixed doubles looks encouraging. But spare a thought for the umpires officiating the matches spread over 15 hours in a single day.

On the brighter side, 254 extra entries in men’s singles and another 121 for women’s singles – each worth Rs. 6,000 – have brought in Rs. 22.50 lakh in entry fees. The host, Haryana Table Tennis Association will get 60 per cent of this sum, which works out to Rs. 13.50 lakh. The remaining Rs. 9 lakh will be TTFI’s share. Many feel that it is unfair on TTFI’s part to virtually “sell” Certificate of Participation for those extra entrants.

Consider this. A record 638 singles matches were scheduled on Wednesday when the action commenced at 8 am, and the tentative time of conclusion was around 10.30 pm. Invariably, on such days, the matches go past midnight.

Each of the 53 umpires, on 22 tables, was expected to officiate in at least 20 matches on this day. In terms of returns, the average daily payment for the umpires is about Rs. 1300. The workload becomes manageable once the action in main draws of all five individual events commences.

Meanwhile, the futility of holding the doubles events in the National Championship is becoming a talking point.

For instance, the Sports Authority of India has asked the TTFI to pay attention to the mixed doubles since it feels that India’s best chance to win an Olympic medal lies in this event.

However, for long the top singles players in the National teams have combined to form entries in doubles.

For instance, the combination of Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra represented India for long before the lady joined hands with G. Sathiyan. Sharath has since won the Commonwealth Games mixed doubles gold with Sreeja Akula.

Sharath-Sathiyan and Ayhika Mukherjee-Sutirtha Mukherjee combinations have won medals in the Commonwealth and Asian Games, respectively, but hardly play or train regularly. With such being the scenario, the new doubles National champions stand no chance of representing the nation especially when the TTFI is quick to point to their bleak chances of winning international medals.