Indore, September 17: The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) will select a 15-member Para table tennis team to represent India at the Asian Para Table Tennis Championships to be held in China between October 16 and 20.

With the sports ministry and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) entrusting the selection job to the national body, the TTFI has organized a two-day trials at Abhay Prashal Stadium in Indore beginning today.

Thirty-three paddlers—28 in men’s section and eight in women’s category—have turned out for the first-day trials conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Table Tennis Association under the supervision of former national champion and national selector Manjit Dua.

According to Dua, all the paddlers participated in trials in 10 classification sections, taking into consideration their disabilities with international umpires R.C. Mouriya and M.I. Purania conducting matches. Dua said he was satisfied with the proceedings as this was the first time that the TTFI was organizing the trials and was pleased with the arrangements made for the paddlers by MPTTA.

MPTTA secretary Jayesh Acharya said that the standing category 8 had maximum participation by men seven paddlers while wheelchair category 4 had four male participants. The other standing categories too saw quite a few paddlers vying with one another to grab a spot in the team to China. In comparison, the women competitors were few and far between with two women participating in wheelchair category 4 while other categories drew one each or none.