Choudhary first Indian to be on ITTF executive board

Dhanraj Choudhary, secretary-general of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), was elected to the Board of Directors (BoD) of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) during its Annual General Meeting held at the ongoing World Championships in Paris Thursday evening.

It is for the first time that an Indian representative has made it to the decision-making body of international table tennis. Choudhary was nominated to the BoD by the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU), following his unrelenting service to the sport in the region, particularly India. In fact, it is the Board which manages the work of ITTF between AGMs with several committees, commissions, and working groups or panels coming under it.

"I feel honoured to have been elected to the BoD of the IITF. I have an added responsibility of discharging my duties towards promoting the game globally. I will do it with all consciousness and to the fullest ability. But, first and foremost, I would want to take Indian table tennis to another level," he said from Paris.

Choudhary has been associated with table tennis for more than two decades, first as a player - he has represented his state and employer LIC - and then as a bright technical hand. He was part of the ITTF's technical committee until last year when it was wound up to take another form.

Even otherwise, Choudhary has been among the jury members of various technical committees, representing the country at various international events, including the CWG, Asian Games, Olympics and World Championships.

Choudhary was heading the technical teams of two of the three World Championships that India organised in 1975 (Kolkata) and 1987 (New Delhi).

Choudhary took over as secretary-general of the Indian body when his predecessor Moolchand Chouhan died in office in 2009.