GUWAHATI, July 4 - The 4th Nagen Hazarika Memorial All Assam Major Ranking Table Tennis Championship got off to a glittering start at the Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium in the RG Baruah Sports Complex here today.
Sports Minister Naba Kumar Doley formally inaugurated the championship amidst great enthusiasm. Expressing the hope that the golden days of Assam table tennis will return soon, he urged the youngsters to contribute in building a healthy nation through sports.
Explaining about various schemes on sports, Doley said that the government is committed to set up quality infrastructure throughout the State so that proper support could be provided to talented sportspersons.
Assam Table Tennis Association (ATTA) secretary Tridib Duvarah welcoming the gathering explained the organisation�s schemes and appealed to the players to take the advantage of the available sports facilities in order to improve their game.
Around 300 players from Guwahati, Jorhat, Golaghat, Mangaldai, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Nagaon, Nazira, North Lakhimpur, Duliajan, Silchar, NF Railway and Oil India Limited are participating in the meet where competitions will be held in five groups each in male and female categories. The groups are Cadet, Subjunior, Junior, Youth and Senior.
Former international players Nandini Baruah, Madalasa Baruah, Carfew Roy, Gautam Hazarika and Joint Director, Sports and Youth Welfare Partha Pegu, among others, were present on the occasion.
Trisha Gogoi, Sarmistha Das, Gargi Goswami, Lia M Hussain (bronze medallists in National Sub Junior Championship), Agniv Bhargav Gohain, Juber Arshad Baruah (bronze medallists in National Sub Junior doubles), Akansha Deka, (bronze medallist in National School Games) were felicitated by the organisers ATTA on the occasion. Nandini Baruah and Madalasa Baruah were also honoured by the Sports Minister in the function.
