Ad hoc TTFI committee retains National-ranking status for Panchkula tournament
An ad hoc committee administering the Table Tennis Federation of India retained the National-ranking status of the Panchkula table tennis tournament in a communication sent to TTFI president Meghna Ahlawat and secretary-general Kamlesh Mehta on October 1. The tournament is scheduled to be held in Panchkula from October 6 to 13.
The committee’s decision reversed an earlier position that TTFI-run events would not be recognised as ranking tournaments until a comprehensive review of the domestic structure was completed. The committee said the decision on Panchkula was taken after weighing the interests of the players, and the event sits on Ahlawat’s home turf.
“The paramount priority of the ad hoc committee remains the protection and welfare of the athletes,” the committee said, adding that, given the proximity of the tournament and the severe hardship a cancellation would cause players, coaches and organisers, it had decided to retain Panchkula’s official National-ranking status.
M.P. Singh, secretary of the Haryana Table Tennis Association, confirmed the committee’s decision and said the HTTA will ensure the event will be “a grand success”.
The committee did not extend the same status to two other proposed tournaments, stating that the events in Uttarakhand and Punjab would not be recognised as National-ranking tournaments. The Uttarakhand event was scheduled for October 31 to November 7 in Dehradun and the Punjab event for November 14 to 21 in Phagwara.
The committee said the conduct and official ranking status of the Dehradun and Phagwara tournaments would “remain suspended until a comprehensive review of the domestic structure was completed”. It also reiterated that it was drawing up a fresh National-ranking calendar in consultation with State associations, with the objective of ensuring a fair, transparent and geographically balanced allocation of the remaining ranking events.
Panchkula will therefore proceed from October 6 to 13 with retained National-ranking status, while the proposed Dehradun (October 31–November 7) and Phagwara (November 14–21) events remain suspended pending the comprehensive review.
