Bangladesh Table Tennis Federation (BTTF) yesterday has reversed its decision to postpone the President's Cup Table Tennis tournament after players insisted on competing despite the non-functioning air-conditioning at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium in Paltan.

Originally slated for May 15-19, the ranking and prize-money tournament will now take place from May 22 to May 25. To cope with the heat, BTTF plans to use stand fans as a substitute for air-conditioning at the venue, which was hastily constructed in 2009 ahead of the 2010 SA Games at a cost of nearly Tk 8 crore.

The Chinese air-conditioning system, installed for around Tk 2 crore at the time, has deteriorated significantly over 16 years. In contrast, the American-made system at Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium in Mirpur -- built before the 1993 SAFF Games -- continues to function smoothly after 32 years, thanks to regular maintenance by a private company.

Unfortunately, no such maintenance arrangement was ever put in place for the Paltan Stadium.

"We have no alternative but to find a solution, even though it may be a complicated and lengthy process," National Sports Council (NSC) secretary Md Aminul Islam told The Daily Star.

"Our engineers have assessed the situation and concluded that a new air-conditioning system is needed, which would cost approximately Tk 12 crore," he informed further, adding that they are initiating the process of presenting a strong investment case to the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Finance.

NSC planning and development director Azmul Haque said the air-conditioning issue was first identified in 2022. "We are seriously considering replacing the air-conditioning and plan to submit the final proposal by tomorrow [Wednesday], although securing funds this late in the fiscal year will be challenging," he said.

Haque expressed his optimism of installing new air-conditioning by next October if the proposal is approved by June.

BTTF general secretary Captain AM Maqsood Ahmed said, "The NSC is trying to repair the air-conditioning, though they once told us that the system was not recoverable. If they can't repair the air-conditioning, we will hold the tournament at the same venue using stand fans, as the players are very keen to play the tournament."

He informed that they are also considering starting the national camp at the same venue with stand fans if no alternative, such as Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium -- currently in use by other federations -- becomes available.

Meanwhile, an NSC engineer, seeking anonymity, informed The Daily Star that experts from four companies have already inspected the system and unanimously advised installing a new one, warning that repairs would only extend its life by a few months.

He also noted that NSC last repaired the system in June 2023, spending Tk 15 lakh to make 30 of 60 compressors operational by installing 16 new units.