Cuttack: The 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships began at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here today.
Odisha Governor Prof. Ganeshi Lal inaugurated the mega tournament, which is being organized by the State Government in association with the Odisha State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) and the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).
A total of 12 teams, such as Australia, Bangladesh, Cyprus, England, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Scotland, South Africa, Singapore and Wales will be vying for glory at the Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium .
India is confident of retaining the cup at the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships.
India men’s team are clubbed with Singapore and Scotland in group B, while England – the top-ranked team – are placed in group A along with Sri Lanka and Cyprus.
According to the format, two teams from each group will qualify for the second stage and Sharath said India would be aiming to sweep the gold medals.
Men:
Group A: England, Sri Lanka, Cyprus; Group B: India, Singapore, Scotland; Group C: Nigeria, Malaysia, Bangladesh; Group D: Australia, South Africa, Wales
Women:
Group A: Singapore, Wales, Scotland; Group B: India, South Africa, Sri Lanka; Group C: Australia, Malaysia, Cyprus; Group D: Nigeria, England, Bangladesh