Ranchi, March 10: The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTF) has announced assistance, financial and otherwise, to the state associations.

To begin with, TTF has decided to foot the lion?s share of a coach?s fees during camps.

A reputed coach is generally paid Rs 50,000 for a 21-day coaching camp and Rs 30,000 for a 15-day camp. But under TTF?s proposal, the apex body will pay Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 to state associations for a 21-day and a 15-day camp respectively, said Jharkhand State Table Tennis Association (JSTTA) secretary Jai Kumar Sinha.

The resource-starved JSTTA finds the second option more convenient, said the secretary, and added that they are already considering organising a 15-day zonal camp in Ranchi, as raising Rs 10,000 ?should not be too difficult?.

The decisions were taken at a TTFI meeting held in Jaipur on February 25, where the members decided to make table tennis a popular sport among the youth.

Perceiving that the rising cost of equipment is affecting budding table tennis players, the federation decided to provide subsidies and increase prize money in tournaments.

Now, both men and women champions will gets Rs 1.2 lakh as prize money, while previously a total prize money of Rs.2.5 lakh was shared among the winners with female players getting less than their male counterparts, Sinha said.

TTFI has also decided to provide equipment at subsidised rates to state associations.

A table tennis board, costing Rs 15,000 to 20,000, will be available for Rs 5,000 to 10,000.

The rubber for a table tennis bat, which costs Rs 600, will be available to the association at Rs 200.

The state associations have also been allowed to charge a maximum of Rs 225 from a single player to cover the cost of procuring the equipment from the TTFI headquarters.

Moreover, the table tennis balls will be available for Rs 200 to 225 per dozen, as against the previous cost of Rs 700 to 800 for the same quantity. And the ball machine, which costs Rs 60,000 to 70,000, will be available for Rs 10,000 to 15,000.

TTFI?s decision to provide equipment at such subsidised rates would bring immense relief to the players, Sinha observed.