Sports event – The table tennis tournament makes its debut in the annual sports event of the BF, CF block

The 14-year-old caused ripples in the audience and later in the neighborhood by winning both the open singles and doubles in the first intra BF-CF Block table tennis tournament of the series. There were also other surprises when the octogenarian secured second place in singles.

The BF and CF blocks have held their annual sports together since 1983, but the table tennis scene started this year. “During the annual sports meeting, we got a proposal for a pilot project of a two-block table tennis tournament. Since there are quite a lot of table tennis enthusiasts in both the blocks, we decided to make it bigger and escalate it to the ward level next year,” said Gora Roy, secretary of the Salt Lake CF Block Residents Association.

The tournament started early in the evening at the CF Block community center with the matches categorized into two main segments. One was for players over 60, and the other was open to anyone under 60. Both had singles and doubles subcategories.

An older power

The first champions of the day came from the over 60 doubles tournament, as only three teams participated in it. Anindya Chakraborty and Suvendu Sarkar, both from CF Block, took home the trophy. “It feels great to win the tournament, but the primary happiness comes from the atmosphere created. The essence of competitiveness mixed with the friendliness of our neighborhood makes this special for me,” said 61-year-old Chakraborty. .

Sarkar repeated the thought. “Playing in such an atmospheric atmosphere is a joy in itself. What makes me happiest is that who wins and who doesn’t is secondary. The fact that years after our studies ended, we were able to play the game here again with our near and dear ones.” added the 62-year-old, who was also the singles runner-up, losing only to champion Debasis Chakrabarti of BF Block in the final.

Singles champion in the over 60 category Debasis Chakrabarti receiving the trophy and certificate

The over-60 doubles also showcased the skills of the oldest player, 82-year-old Pralay Kumar Mitra, a resident of CF Block, who, alongside 72-year-old Shyamal Kumar Mitra, secured second place. It was Pralay’s agility even at his age that Anindya Chakraborty hailed him as “the best”.

Sneha Sinha, a 14-year-old from BF Block, secured first place in the open singles section, along with Saurabh Basu from the same block, and later won the singles crown as well. Santanu Mitra and Chakrabarti, joint secretary of BF Block residents’ association, finished second in the doubles. Mitra also secured third place in the singles behind runner-up Chakrabarti.

A bright future

The tournament was refereed by Sourabh Mondal, a state level medalist who has also played all India tournaments and is currently running the Table Tennis Coaching Center at BF Block. “The kids I coach and who are participating in this tournament, I must say, have a bright future ahead of them if they pursue table tennis as a career. Their passion for the sport is commendable, but most of them will not be able to play much longer because of their academic obligations. So it is very important to balance academics and sports,” he said after the tournament.

Sudipto Ghosh, Secretary, BF Block Committee, emphasized on the purpose of the competition. “Through this tournament and others like it, we aim to use sports as a way to strengthen the bond between the residents of the two blocks.”

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