Ghana, Guyana and Pakistan not to take part in Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Pakistan table tennis players have pulled out of the upcoming Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, which is scheduled to begin from 17 July in Cuttack, due to visa issues. On the other hand, Ghana and Guyana have not received government clearance and hence will also not be a part of the event.
According to PTI reports, the table tennis players from Pakistan are not going to participate in the upcoming Commonwealth Championships because of visa issues. Not only that, the tournament will also be devoid of paddlers from Ghana and Guyana due to government clearance. The general secretary of the Table Tennis Federation of India MP Singh had earlier informed that there was no clarity over the participation of the neighbouring country in the event.
With the three nations backing out of the Championships, the number of participating teams has now gone down to 12. Apart from hosts India, Australia, Bangladesh, Cyprus, England, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Scotland, South Africa, Singapore and Wales are the other participating countries in the completion which will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack.
Earlier, there were 17 total entries for the tournament out of which, Uganda and Jersey had decided to pull out because of government clearance.
Meanwhile, Wales and South Africa arrived in Bhubaneswar on Monday for the event while Australia, England and Malaysia are expected to reach Odisha on Tuesday. Indian players took part in the ITTF World Tour Platinum Australian Open before this tournament and will arrive for the Commonwealth event today.