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Table tennis camp with a difference

There are no seniors included in the camp because we wanted to focus on young talents.

Four years ago Maria Rony and Seraha Jacob created history by bagging Kerala’s first table tennis medal in the National Games – a bronze. The talented young duo has since progressed to the seniors and while their success story offered a glimmer of hope for the sport in Kerala their achievements have not been emulated, yet.

Sensing this ‘void’, two of Kerala’s finest young coaches, who were also instrumental in developing Maria and Seraha, have decided to conduct periodic camps, with emphasis on beginners. As a start, Intaglio TT consultancy, managed by the coaches Rajeev Ramachandran and Bobby Joseph, in association with Kerala Table Tennis Association, is running a ten-day camp at the Regional Sports Centre in Kochi.

At least 40 players from as many as five districts are taking part in the camp that started May 13 and the coaches are hoping to organise similar camps during every vacation. An ITTF coach (International Table Tennis Federation) will be visiting the facility in June to continue the training.

“After the Maria-Seraha batch there is a talent void,” says Rajeev Ramachandran. “It is important that we spot talents early and give them systematic training from time to time. I believe such a camp that is not specified to any particular region and involves state-wide talents is a first of its kind in Kerala,” Rajeev added.

“There are no seniors included in the camp because we wanted to focus on young talents. Kids are given training in technique and footwork and we are also doing video analysis of sessions to help in technical and tactical perfection. We are hoping to include more table tennis enthusiasts in the future camps,” Rajeev said.

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