New Delhi, March 12: The hosts of domestic table tennis tournaments got major shot in the arm when Stag International announced an annual package of Rs. 85 lakh towards sponsorships, soon after the annual general meeting of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) at Gurugram yesterday.

Speaking on the occasion, the owners of equipment partners of TTFI—Rakesh Kohli and Vivek Kohli—said that they were offering a sponsorship amount of Rs. 10 lakh each for the five zonal events and two nationals (Cadet and Sub-Junior and Junior and Youth) and Rs. 15 lakh for the senior nationals.

Vivek said that this was their way of promoting table tennis in the country. “We have long been thinking to contribute more substantially, apart from the routine sponsoring of tables, balls, flooring and kitting to players,” said Vivek.

The Meerut-based manufacturers, who supply Stag equipment and apparels in over 150 countries, also announced State League in the metros. For the first season this year, they have chosen Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Lucknow to begin with. “We will include more states in the League from next year,” he said.

Vivek also said that they had picked Lucknow as one of the venues for the League in the inaugural year as they hailed from the state of Uttar Pradesh and having represented the state as player in nationals, he had a certain duty towards promotion of the sport in the state. “Moreover, our manufacturing unit is in UP,” he reasoned.

Recalling their long association with TTFI, Secretary General M.P. Singh said that Stag International has a played a crucial role in promotion of the sport, especially supplying kit and equipment all these years for TTFI tournaments. “With their additional sponsorship support, our state units will be immensely benefited. It will reduce the burden on the hosts of domestic events. We are really thankful to Stag,” he said.