PSCB has the best credentials

By S. Sabanayakan

CUTTACK, JAN. 4. Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSCB), with an array of top players in its ranks, will be the team to beat in both the men's and women's sections of the 62nd Senior National and inter-State table tennis championship commencing at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Friday.

As per the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) released groupings, 29 teams in the men's section and 27 in the distaff side have been divided into four groups. After a single round- robin league matches two teams from each group will move up to the knockout quarterfinals. The field includes newly-created States like Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal.

India, with hardly anything to show in the international arena in terms of achievement all these years, can only hope the New Year will bring some cheer. But on the home front there has been a lot of happenings with the latest feud between the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and Bengal Table Tennis Association (BTTA) showing the parent body and one of its affiliated units in poor light.

In the process, the game's set up in Bengal, the premier nursery of the game in the country, is being subjected to irreparable damage. The latest victims are one of India's top player, Arup Basak, being suspended for one year on disciplinary grounds and Bengal coach, Jayanta Pushilal, being banished from the coach's roster of the country.

Despite Basak's absence, the PSCB men's team looks the best outfit with Chetan P. Baboor, S. Raman, Subhajit Saha and Arjun Dutta providing a solid front. Punjab, which had finished second at the Lucknow Nationals, will once again fight it out with Railways for another chance to test the might of PSCB.

In the ladies' team championship, PSCB, with N.R. Indu, Mouma Das, M.S. Mythili and Paulomi Ghatak in its ranks, looks the favourite to keep the title. Railways, banking on veteran Anindita Chakraborty, may still qualify to play PSCB in the final though Bengal and Tamil Nadu are not far behind. Kasturi Chakraborty, one of the mainstays for Railways, will turn out for Bengal in this Nationals.

On the individual front, Baboor and Indu have been given the pride of place with reigning National champions, S. Raman and Mouma Das, seeded third and second respectively. Soumyadip Roy of PSCB Academy, though seeded second behind Baboor, was the pick of the lot going by his showing in the ranking tournaments.

With vast experience and never say die spirit, Raman will make his presence felt. It was Raman who halted Baboor from winning the record fifth title at Lucknow. The dark horse of the men's draw is Subhajit Saha, seeded fourth here.

Cuttack, which was to host the tournament last year, failed to do so owing to the damage the super cyclone had caused to the State. The venue, a compact stadium, had its roof blown off and the playing arena water-logged. The Orissa Table Tennis Association has done a good job by readying the venue though the flooring may not be to the liking of the top players.

The groupings:

Men: Group A: PSCB, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Orissa, Pondicherry, Kerala, Uttaranchal and Sikkim. Group B: Punjab, Assam, Maharashtra B, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand. Group C: Railways, Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra A, Chandigarh, Goa and Haryana. Group D: Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh.

Women: Group A: PSCB, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Tripura. Group B: Railways, Kerala, Maharashtra A, Pondicherry, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal. Group C: Bengal, Maharashtra B, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir and Chattisgarh. Group D: Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana.

Seedings: men: singles: 1. Chetan P. Baboor (PSCB), 2. Soumyadip Roy (PSCB Academy), 3. S. Raman (PSCB), 4, Subhajit Saha (PSCB), 5. Shibaji Dutta (Rly), 6. Bhushan Thakur (Rly), 7. R. Rajesh (TN), 8. Ranabir Das (Rly).

Women: singles: 1. N.R. Indu (PSCB), 2. Mouma Das (PSCB), 3. Anindita Chakraborty (Rly), 4. M.S. Mythili (PSCB), 5. Mantu Ghosh (PSCB), 6. Paulomi Ghatak (PSCB), 7. Kasturi Chakraborty (Bengal), 8. Mallika Parekh (Rly).

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