Ajmer academy gears up for the Games

AJMER: Eyes-catching scenes of bats hitting the ball in all directions in fractions of a second by children as young as 10-year-olds day in and 

day out have become a common sight now-a-days at the National Petroleum Academy here. The academy is polishing the talents and preparing refined table tennis players for the upcoming Commonwealth Games that would held in New Delhi next year. 

At a national-level camp being organized here to select and train the players, children are being guided by the best coaches of country and abroad. It is heartening to observe that more and more girls are coming out to learn the game and compete at international arena. 

Mool Chand Chowhan, former director of International Table Tennis Federation, established the National Table Tennis Academy here. "Arjun awardee Sondeep Roy and dozens of other players graduated from here have made their presence felt in the international TT tournaments," said Chowhan. 

With changing times, sports in the country too is getting hi-tech and better facilities are being installed for training now-a-days. He said that the academy will provide accommodation to the Commonwealth Games participants. At present, Chowhan is the vice-president of Indian Olympic Association and vice-chairman of Accommodation Committee of Commonwealth Games 2010. 

Eighty-two-year-old Chowhan has a glorious track record in the field all through his life and remains head of various international organizations. "My motto is to provide international facilities to the players of India. We have no scarcity of talents but needed polishing," said Chowhan.