Shiva Sundar Gothe and Nabita Shrestha are on the top in men´s and women´s category respectively. [break]
ANTTA organized a press conference on Saturday and informed that the top 20 players will compete with each other in round robin system in both men´s and women´s section during the ranking tournament that will conclude on Friday.
“A player has to play 19 matches in best-of-five format and we can expect to get real TT champions of the country,” said ANTTA President Chatura Nanda Baidya.
According to Baidya, top 16 players of the National Table Tennis Tournament held last December in Biratnagar are included in the tournament while four players each in both categories are selected through the qualifying tournaments conducted in 12 districts.
Another competition was held among the selected 20 players in both categories following which the new ranking was published.
The top 16 players in each category will get cash prizes in the upcoming tournament while bottom four will be relegated.
Winners will receive Rs 15000 each and G-Five Mobile while runners-up will get Rs 8000 each.
According to the tournament coordinator and Table Tennis Chief Coach Brijendra Hamal, the tournament has a purse of Rs 1,10,000 set aside for prizes. “The players from the Kathmandu valley will get allowances for lunch while players from outside the valley will get both traveling and daily allowances,” said Hamal. He claimed that the league format will boost the development of Table Tennis in Nepal.
Coach Shankar Gautam said that it was for the first time that a TT league with ranking system is being introduced in Nepal. He informed that the 11th South Asian bronze medalist Muna Basukala will be felicitated at the end of the tournament since she had won the first women´s single medal in SAG after 19 years.
Top 5 in women´s ranking
1. Nabita Shrestha - Nepal Police Club (NPC)
2. Swechchha Nembang - NPC
3. Alina Maharjan - Kathmandu
4. Renuka Khatri - Kathmandu
5. Rabina Maharjan - Kathmandu
Top 5 in men´s ranking
1. Shiva Sundar Gothe - Little Angels
2. Ajay Suwal - NPC
3. Rajendra Kapali - Lalitpur
4. Chandan Shahi - Kathmandu
5. Ranjit Singh Rayamajhi - KKM
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