Table tennis leagues underway
Dhaka Metropolis Table Tennis Championships got underway at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium yesterday amid enthusiasm from 44 participating teams.
11 teams are participating in the Senior Division League and 24 clubs are taking part in the First Division League while nine teams are playing in the Women's League. Some 211 players, including 36 female players, are taking part in the championships.
The clubs are apparently more serious about winning titles this season as a record 25 Indian players have been signed up by the cubs, although only 14 have been given clearance from their board so far. One team is still trying to rope in an Egyptian player.
The country's top players have also been given highest contracts this time as national champion Javed Ahmed, who is playing for Uttara Table Tennis Club, has been paid Tk 3.85 lakh compared to the Tk 1.8 lakh he received last season. Players like Imran Hossain Ridoy of Arunima Sports and Manos Chowdhury of Palolik Table Tennis Club got Tk 3.5 and Tk 3.2 lakh respectively.
It has also been learnt that the participating clubs of senior division spent Tk 4 to Tk 8 lakh to form their squads while the foreign players are getting 300 to 1,500 US dollars.
Explaining the reason behind spending big, defending champions Arunima Sports' manager and former national player Mohammad Ali said: "There is a general lack of quality players, so everyone tried to rope in the best players with the hope of getting good results which led to an increase in players' payments.
"This time the league will be more competitive compared to any other seasons and no one can be sure that they will lift the title. Besides, every senior division team has roped in foreign players which never happened before," said Ali, who also believes the clubs intend to do something spectacular in the championships ahead of the possible polls of the Bangladesh Table Tennis Federation in June-July.
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