Dharamsala, November 23: With PSPB’s hegemony in Junior Boys and Youth Boys sections getting over a couple of seasons ago, reigning champions Maharashtra looks to be the teams to beat in the 77th Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships, beginning at the Indoor Stadium here from tomorrow.

The Maharashtra boys in both sections had rightfully filled the gap at Alleppey last year, sounding out a firm warning to the other teams in the fray. It must has come as a great relief to all state teams that PSPB’s monopoly was over and that they, like Maharashtra, can hope to lay their hands on the teams’ trophy. However, Maharashtra teams are no way going to give them up so easily, thanks to a very good team they have put up.

Of the 29 teams in the Youth Boys and 31 in Junior Boys, Rajasthan is the only team in the Youth section that can pose some dangers to Maharashtra. With the likes of Abhishek Yadav, Sudhanshu Grover and Pankaj Viswakarma in their ranks, the task should be easier. But then they have Ravindra Kotiyan to contend with, the only threat, and if Rajasthan manages to ward him off the title should be theirs.

But then there teams like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana who have players of the calibre to give some headache to these two teams. Even West Bengal, with Arjun Ghosh part of the squad, can look to topple the bigger teams. In the Junior Boys section, the contest looks to between West Bengal and Rajasthan along with Maharashtra.   

As for Youth Girls, the real challenge could be between Airports Authority of India and Delhi, thanks to the induction of Manika Batra who was relieved by PSPB on loan. In fact, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have strong squads to pose questions. However, it is to be seen whether AAI or Delhi can be stopped early enough to deny them chances.

In Junior Girls, Telangana are the winners while Maharashtra finished behind them at Alleppey. It is in this category, a few more teams that are capable of beating one another on a given day. Teams like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka and Maharashtra B are reasonably good teams with enough fire powers. North Bengal, though lost some teeth, cannot be ignored completely.

Teams in both the sections of boys and girls have been divided into eight groups of three or four teams and qualifications matches for the team events in Junior Boys and Junior Girls will begin tomorrow. The Yuth events’ qualifications will start tomorrow with teams finals in four categories slated to be held on Thursday.

From Friday, the singles and doubles events commence followed by the finals on Sunday. With Rs. 4.76 prize money on offer, the contest in all the categories is going to be very tough. But those who maximized their chances holding sway during the national ranking championships held in five zones—Abhishek Yadav, Ravindra Kotiyan, Manush Shah, Manav Thakkar, Siddesh Pandey, Arjun Ghosh, Manushree Patil, Prapti Sen and Harshavardhini Ravichandran—stand a very good chance.

According to Competition Manager Ganeshan Neelankata Iyer, all STAG equipment—table, flooring and ball—will be used for the six-day championships, being held in this picturesque city. A.S. Kler has been nominated as the chief referee and he will be assisted by deputy referees Anil Dubey, Atul Dubey and T.G. Upadhya. Forty officials—Blue Badge, international and national umpires—will be on duty for the championships.

“We are hosting such a big event for the first time and it is our privilege to take care all teams and officials. I hope people enjoy their stay, too,” said Yashpal Rana, secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Table Tennis Association.