Ranchi, Sept 3: The three-day Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) Inter-Area Badminton and Table Tennis Championship began here on Thursday with 189 players competing across men’s, women’s and veterans’ categories.
The championship, being held at the Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo Stadium in Khelgaon from September 3 to 5, was inaugurated by CCL Director (Finance) Pawan Kumar Mishra and Director (Human Resources) Harsh Nath Mishra.
Addressing the players, Mishra said sports play an important role in developing discipline and teamwork, while stressing that giving one’s best with sportsmanship is more important than merely winning or losing.
“Sports instil discipline and a spirit of teamwork in our lives,” he said, urging participants to maintain discipline throughout the competition.
Mishra also welcomed the increasing participation of women players, describing it as a positive and encouraging development.
Harsh Nath Mishra said the championship would provide a platform to showcase CCL’s sporting talent and expressed confidence that outstanding performers would go on to bring laurels to the company at national and inter-company levels.
“We are confident that this championship will bring CCL’s outstanding sporting talent to the forefront, and these players will go on to bring laurels to CCL at the national and inter-company levels,” he said.
Competitions are being held in badminton and table tennis in Open Singles, Open Doubles and Team Championship categories, while veterans are competing in Open Singles and Open Doubles.
The Barka-Sayal and Headquarters teams put up strong performances in the Team Championship, displaying coordination, skill and sportsmanship. In veterans’ events, Pawan Kumar Mishra and Harsh Nath Mishra also participated and showcased their experience. Their badminton contest saw scores of 21-18, 15-21 and 21-16.
The Headquarters and Hazaribagh teams also delivered impressive performances in table tennis team events.
Players from 17 CCL areas and units, including Amrapali-Chandragup, Rajhara, Rajrappa, Giridih, Kuju, Argada, B&K, Magadh-Sanghamitra, Barka-Sayal, CHR, Dhori, Headquarters, Kathara, Hazaribagh, NK, CRS Barkakana, Piparwar and MRS Ramgarh, are participating in the championship.
Experienced technical officials and referees have been deployed to ensure fair and smooth conduct of the matches. The contests will continue on September 4 and 5.
Top performers in the CCL Inter-Area Championship will get an opportunity to represent CCL at the Coal India Limited (CIL) Inter-Company Championship. The CIL Inter-Company Table Tennis Championship is proposed for November, while the Badminton Championship is scheduled for December 2026.
