Table Tennis: Quetta night matches attracting players

Table tennis event organised in Ramazan.

KARACHI: Balochistan may be witnessing unrest right now but that has not stopped the province from organising sports events.

Officials are gearing up for the Ramazan table tennis championship these days, which will feature 100 players including 36 females, to promote the sport among the youth. According to Pakistan Table Tennis (PTTF) Secretary Hafeezullah Kakar, the tournament will also feature the top 20 national players who are present in the city for the South Asian Games training camp.

The matches will start after sunset and will continue till sunrise.

“It’s a great way to make table tennis interesting — Ramazan is a great time for that,” Kakar told The Express Tribune. “It’s more about enjoying the sport than the competition itself. The enthusiasm and response from the participants is better. We have all seen the poor law-and-order situation in Quetta and this event will make a lot of difference. The federation has arranged for the sehr and iftar and all the facilities are provided to the players.”

Meanwhile, according to a local player, Ali Kareem, the championship is a great way to practise for the national championship that will start later this month

“It’s a good sign that some other sport besides cricket also has night matches,” said Kareem. “We can have the same culture in table tennis as well. I’m glad that they are doing it on a bigger scale this year.”

Similarly Saima Hamid, who plays in Quetta for her college, said that it was a good move on part of the PTTF to arrange for night matches.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2012.