Vishwa Deenadayalan, a promising table tennis player from Tamil Nadu, died in a road accident in Meghalaya's Ri Bhoi district on Sunday. He was travelling in a car along with his three teammates from Guwahati to Shillong to participate in the 83rd Senior National and Inter-State Championships. He was 18. (More Sports News)
He was part of the Tamizhaga Table Tennis Association (TTTA) State men’s team. He is survived by his parents and elder sister.
According to reports, a 12-wheel trailer, coming from the opposite direction, ploughed through the road divider and hit the vehicle at Shangbangla and plunged into the gorge.
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The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), in a release, said that the driver died on the spot, while Deenadayalan was declared brought dead by the doctors of Nongpoh Civil Hospital.
His teammates -- Ramesh Santosh Kumar, Abinash Prasannaji Srinivasan and Kishore Kumar -- suffered severe injuries but are currently stable.
The organisers of the championships had rushed them to the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in Shillong for critical care.
"The team of doctors attending to them said the boys were stable," the release said.
Deenadayalan had won several national ranking titles and international medals. He was to represent India at the WTT Youth Contender at Linz, Austria, from April 27.
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Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma mourned his death.
"With big dreams at such a young age, Deenadayalan had his whole life ahead of him. I extend my deepest condolences to his family. Have asked the team to extend all assistance to complete the necessary formalities. May his soul rest in peace," wrote Sangma in a tweet.
Condoling the death of Deenadayalan, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote: "Shocked beyond words to hear about the heartbreaking & untimely demise of our young, promising Table Tennis player Vishwa Deenadayalan. He was a legend-in-making and it pains me that he left us too soon. I offer my deepest condolences to his family, friends & sports fraternity."
Stalin announced Rs 10 Lakh solatium to the parents of the table tennis player. TTFI president and Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala also announced Rs 5 lakh as compensation for his family.
Deenadayalan was a B.Com student of Loyola College. He had won the Under-19 Boys title during the Dehra Dun National Ranking Tournament in January.
In his message to the family, Chautala said, "Vishwa Deendayalan, winner of the Under-19 title this year at Dehradun, was an exceptional talent and we all expected him to make India proud in the international arena. We have truly lost a champion. May God give strength to the family to bear this excruciating loss."
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The country’s top players are competing in the 83rd Senior National Table Tennis Championships which starts Monday.
(With PTI inputs)
