October 17, 2011
Coimbatore Campus
 

Table tennis is a popular sport in our nation. Those with mental acuity, coordination, speed and dexterity can score in this fast moving game.
 

Amrita students recently received the opportunity to demonstrate their skill and agility at the South Zone Inter-University Table Tennis Tournament organized at their Coimbatore campus during October 10-12.
 

The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) entrusted the responsibility for organizing the tournament to Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Sri. S. Raman Arjuna, four-time national champion in table tennis, inaugurated the event.
 

Expressing his appreciation for the infrastructure on campus, Sri. Raman suggested that Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham offer student training programs to aid the general development of sports activities. “I will provide all necessary help for this with regard to table tennis,” he said.
 

Shri. Ravi, Secretary, Coimbatore District Table Tennis Association was also present during the inaugural function.
 

The tournament saw participation from boys of 47 universities and girls of 37 universities from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. With nearly 60 team managers and coaches, the total number of guests including contestants, approached 500.
 

Teams from Chennai won the tournament both in the boys and girls categories.*
 

Aditya Narasimhan, second-year MBA student at SRM University, Chennai was part of the winning boys team.
 

“We feel proud to have won,” he said. “We are now looking forward to participating in the upcoming national level tournament.”
 

He, just like many of his peers and coaches, expressed gratitude for the fine hospitality shown by the student and staff volunteers at Amrita.
 

“All guests from participating universities expressed their immense satisfaction in the feedback forms,” stated Dr. O. J. Kumaresan, Director of Physical Education Department & Organizing Secretary of the Tournament.
 

“We express our heartfelt gratitude to the entire Amrita fraternity for their wholehearted support that paved the way for the smooth conduct of the tournament,” added Dr. S. Mahadevan, Chairman, Department of Sciences & Chairman, Tournament Organizing Committee.
 

After the games, winning teams were felicitated and given prizes and mementos at a valedictory function.*
 

Of the Amrita teams that participated, a boys teams qualified for the national level finals to be organized in January 2012.
 

This will be the first time Amrita will be represented at the National Table Tennis Tournament. We wish the team and all other contestants the best of luck!
 

* Results (Boys)
First: SRM University, Chennai
Second: Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala
Third: Vishweshraiya Technical University, Belgaum
Fourth: Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore

Results (Girls)
First: University of Madras, Chennai
Second: Pondicherry University
Third: Vishweshraiya Technical University, Belgaum
Fourth: Manonmanian Sundarambal (MS) University, Tamil Nadu