India’s top table-tennis players are currently preparing for the World Championships, to be held in Paris in 10 days’ time. They are preparing by practising in a hastily rejigged boxing hall, and sleeping five to a room in the Delhi summer heat.This, when proper facilities are available as close by as Ajmer and Patiala.The seven-member team, except captain Chetan Baboor (who’s playing abroad), has been camping at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here for almost a week. The room certainly doesn’t meet the standards specified for training at this level, says team coach Bhawani Mukherjee, pointing to cracks in various places on the side walls and the lack of proper ventilation.Mukherjee says that the facilities are better in Ajmer — the National Tennis Academy at Ajmer, maintained by the Petroleum Sports Control Board at vast expense — and at the NIS, Patiala. Both have synthetic flooring, better lighting facilties and Butterfly tables, and the hall at Patiala has an air-cooling system. ‘‘This room is too small and, therefore, has a greater air pressure which is not the right condition for training. We do not expect conditions like at the world championship but it can be better than this,’’ said Mukherjee.The TTFI was probably more interested in making easier its own job of processing paperwork for the players. The Sports ministry is expected to send the official letter of participation at the world champonship next week and only then can the TTFI issue letters to the players. Individual players will then have to apply to their employers for tour allowance. ‘‘The federation is dependent on the government for funding, so one has to bear with paperwork delays. It’s nothing new,’’ the Indian coach said with a metaphorical shrug of the shoulders. ‘‘This is just a temporary arrangement but in the next couple of days we will take up the issue with the Executive Director (Team) of the Sports Authority of India. Hopfully, we can shift to the Indira Gandhi Stadium—at least, the halls are at bigger there,’’ Mukherjee said.That much seems to be on the cards. When contacted, TTFI secretary general Moolchand Chauhan said nobody had objected to training at the Nehru Stadium but he promised that they would be shifted to the Indira Gandhi Stadium on Monday. Typically, though, one thing the federation has got organised is the delegation to accompany the team. For seven players, there will be six officials: two coaches, an international umpire, two delegates - and a manager.However, even that ratio of 1:1 isn’t likely to make conditions more comfortable for the players.
