Pakistan confirms participation in South Asian TT in Delhi

Pakistan will compete in the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships beginning at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here Saturday. The Maldives are the lone team from the region to have pulled out of the three-day event.

Pakistani teams have faced Indian visa issues in the recent past. Its cycling team got late in arriving for the Asian Cycling Championships in March and could only take part in road events while the table tennis seniors missed the Commonwealth Championships in May.

"Pakistani contingent have got the visa and they have confirmed their participation. Barring Maldives, all teams are coming," Dhanraj Choudhary, Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) secretary general, told IANS.

Choudhary added that it will be a nine-member Pakistani unit comprising three junior players, three in cadet category and as many officials.

Table Tennis returns to Indira Gandhi stadium after a long gap as most major tournaments have taken place at the Thyagaraj Stadium since the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The 2012 South Asian Championships was organised in Shillong. The winner and runner-up of the team competition qualifies for the Asian Juniors in Doha, Qatar in September.