Students take part in the table tennis championship in Patna on Friday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Students from 13 city schools on Friday showcased their serve and spin skills on tables at Bihar Young Men’s Institute building. They were the participants of the three-day BB Yadav Memorial Inter-School Table Tennis Championship.

The participating schools include Patna Central School, Litera Valley, Delhi Public School, DAV BSEB Colony and Ishan International Girls’ School.

Madhukar Jha, the principal of Open Minds Birla School, inaugurated the tournament on Friday. “Sports and games are essential parts of an individual’s life because a healthy body leads to a healthy mind,” he said.

“In today’s life, sports are even more important because many youths bag government jobs by virtue of being a very good sportsperson,” Jha added.

Students from Class III to Class XII are participating in the tournament, which has been divided into three categories — under-12, under-14 and under-17.

The tournament, organised by Bihar Table Tennis Association, features a number of players who have participated in state-level competitions and a couple others who have taken part in national-level table tennis championships.

Naman Kumar, who played the game at the national-level, told The Telegraph: “The condition of table tennis is not good in Bihar because of the lack of necessary assistance. Let alone other cities in the state, even Patna does not have a single indoor stadium where players can practise.

“The indoor stadium at Patliputra Sports Complex is ready but players cannot practise because there are no table tennis boards.”