Vibrant past, dismal present, only hope for the future

Unlike the prevailing scenario nowadays, many disciplines had a place in the country's sporting arena in the past and regularly produced stars that would hog the national spotlight.

Table tennis was among them, with local tournaments proving quite a success in terms of participants and spectators. Zobera Rahman Linu earned celebrity status through her displays while names like Mossadekul Haque Rochi, Saidul Haque Sadi, Nasimul Hasan Kochi, Ali Khan Sumit and Sad Uddin Kislu were well-known by sports followers across the country.

But those days are gone. There is hardly anyone now who can match up to the name and fame of their predecessors and, perhaps most importantly, the sport has failed to maintain any zeal in the country's sporting arena.

Many believe a lack of international successes, proper planning, lack of grassroots-level development and splinters within the federation have impeded the game, but they are also looking forward to a new beginning after some positive initiatives in recent times.

The game has always been Dhaka-centric, with Azimpur, Dhanmondi, Swamibag, Farashganj, Armanitola, Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) considered breeding grounds for players.

Educational institutes such as St. Joseph School, St Gregory's School in Dhaka and district schools provided facilities to play table tennis on concrete boards but the sport only gathered real momentum in recognised parts of Dhaka and its suburbs with the help of passionate organisers.

Yet, the sport lost its charm not only in Dhaka but also in districts like Rangpur, Narial, Rajshahi, Jashore, Habiganj, Khulna, Chattogram, Gaibandha and Kushtia. Only a couple of sports institutes -- Quantum and BKSP -- are now leading the way to revive the sport.

The Bangladesh Table Tennis Federation (BTTF) has taken some initiatives to bring back its glory days. They are grooming and training promising players under foreign coaches as well as making the Premier Division Table Tennis League a lucrative way for players to earn their bread and butter.

"After prolonged training under foreign coaches, I have improved a lot. I never thought before that I could do what I saw on YouTube, but now I can play that way. I am now dreaming big," Bangladesh Games champion Sadia Rahman Mou said.

A rise in player payments is also being considered a good sign.

Former national champion Sonom Sultana Soma said: "It is true that we have been getting better payment over the past two years and the players are also giving the effort to perform better. If it continues, I think table tennis will go far."

"Our women's team suffered a 3-1 defeat to Nepal in the South Asian Games in 2019 but they beat Nepal 3-0 in the Asian Table Tennis Championships last year while the men's team also beat higher-ranked Palestine and Sri Lanka in the same tournament," national coach Mohammad Ali said.