Bhubaneswar: In the pursuit of establishing itself as India’s leading sporting hub, Odisha has now turned its focus on table tennis.
The introduction of two well-equipped academies, in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, promises to usher in a new dawn in table tennis.
Both these academies have been attracting raw, enthusiastic talent from across the region.
These aspiring paddlers as well as the existing pool of players stand to benefit from access to world-class coaching, facilities and infrastructure.
These academies will also create a conducive environment for identification and grooming of talent, and eventual representation at national and international levels.
The structured training programmes at the academies not only focus on skill development but also focus on physical fitness and mental agility, both essential aspects of competitive table tennis.
Located in Laxmisagar area of Bhubaneswar, the Odisha Table Tennis Academy (OTTA) presently has 76 young trainees in the age-groups of U-11 to U-19.
Besides these young talents, there are around 20 master players and four para paddlers who hone their skills at the academy, in keeping with the spirit of inclusivity.
The Cuttack Table Tennis Academy (CTTA) at CDA has a total of 150 players across youth and masters categories.
Both academies recently produced impressive results at the UTT 85th Inter-State Sub-Junior and Cadet National Championships held in January. The Odisha team, comprising Jigyansu Sahoo (Cuttack), Takmil Mohammed (Cuttack), Jigyanshu Sai Kiran Pradhan (Puri) and Aninday Anupam Das (Bhubaneswar), clinched a historic bronze medal in the competition.
OTTA Bhubaneswar will look to build on the recent success with its players set to compete in the upcoming UTT Para Table Tennis National Championship (March 20-22) and National Masters Table Tennis Championship in April.
Both academies have started school outreach programme in the form of full-fledged summer camps to further identify and nurture fresh talent from the state.
“Cuttack is the hub of table tennis and the academy has been providing that platform to both youth and masters. We are also training U-8 age group kids so that they gain the knowledge of the sport from their early days,” said CTTA coach Raj S Subramaniam.
“Our current cohort is very talented, they won bronze and I want them to get selected at the national camp,” he added.
