Cadets to the fore in State ranking TT meet

Abinash Das, Amrit Chakraborty (both Bhubaneswar), Suvendu Dutta (Nalco) and Anustup Das (Khurda) emerged group toppers in cadet boys event to advance to the league round of the All-Orissa Ranking Table Tennis Tournament at Unit-1 Indoor Hall in Bhubaneswar today. In cadet girls event, Anjali Agarwal, Ankita Senapati, Bidisha Patnaik (all Bhubaneswar) and Tanya Gope (Nalco) completed the semifinal line-up after the end of preliminary group matches. Around 200 paddlers from eight districts and six institutions joined the three-day tournament, which is being organised by Khurda District Table Tennis Association (KDTTA) under the aegis of Orissa State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA). Indian Oil Corporation General Manager V Ram Gopal inaugurated the tournament in the presence of KDTTA president Lokanath Samal and secretary Smruti Ranjan Das. Competition is being held in 10 events and ranking points are being awarded at the rate of 60 for title winner, 40 for runner-up, 30 for semifinalist, 20 for quarterfinalist and 10 for pre-quarterfinalist. PHOTOS: TOP: Boys trade strokes at the All-Orissa Ranking Table Tennis Tournament in Bhubaneswar on Oct 2, 2009. BOTTOM: Guests at the opening ceremony of the All-Orissa Ranking Table Tennis Tournament in Bhubaneswar on Oct 2, 2009.