Service returned with forehand smash in TT war

AHMEDABAD, June 29: The Gujarat State Table Tennis Association GSTTA has strongly denied the charge of improper functioning'' based o...

AHMEDABAD, June 29: The Gujarat State Table Tennis Association GSTTA has strongly denied the charge of 8220;improper functioning8221; based on which the Table Tennis Federation of India TTFI dissolved the body and formed an ad-hoc committee to run the game in the State. The association termed the decision 8220;extremely arbitrary8221;.

In a fax received here on Monday, signed by TTFI secretary M C Chowhan, it was stated that the GSTTA was being 8220;dissolved because of improper functioning8221;.

Vipul Mittra, Deputy Chairman of the Kandla Port Trust and president of the Kutch District Table Tennis Association, was appointed chairman of the ad-hoc committee which would 8220;look after8221; all table tennis activities in the state.

K D Oak, secretary of the dissolved GSTTA; Nishit Mehta, a local businessman from Bhavnagar; Kalpesh Thakkar, joint secretary of the Baroda District Table Tennis Association; and Haresh Sangtani, joint secretary of the Kutch District Table Tennis Association, were appointed members of the ad-hoc committee.

Oak expressed shock at the development on Tuesday and said he had the 8220;written support8221; of 14 of the 16 districts affiliated to the GSTTA. He said he had obtained these after Chowhan had threatened to dissolve the GSTTA in April. He said he had sent copies of the support letters 8212; to the effect that they were 8220;fully satisfied with the functioning of the State body8221; 8212; to Chowhan, and added that he would not accept any position in the ad-hoc committee.

Calling the manner in which the body was dissolved as 8220;extremely arbitrary8221;, Oak said the TTFI had not even communicated the dissolution decision to the GSTTA, let alone making him party to the deliberations. 8220;I came to know of it only through the press, I have not received any official communication so far,8221; he said.

8220;We have been conducting seven or eight state major ranking tournaments every year in addition to one State championship,8221; said Oak, who has been involved in running the game in Gujarat since 1975. 8220;And in the last 25 years our State has not missed a single National Championship, so how can it be claimed that the GSTTA is not functioning properly?8221; he asked.

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Sources believe Vipul Mittra had ambitions of becoming president of the GSTTA, and when asked to respond to it, Oak said anyone who was interested in the game and willing to deliver the goods was welcome, but pointed out that such issues were usually taken up at the annual general meeting. He added that the AGM, with elections on the agenda, was scheduled to be held in July and the issue could have been considered then. Ironically, Mittra, when contacted on phone, said from Gandhidham that he had 8220;no problems8221; in his dealings with Oak. 8220;I have met him only on a couple of occasions, but I have had no problems with him,8221; he said.