Ex-LS Speaker praises Mamata for promoting sports

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee praised the initiative taken by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Sports Minister Aroop Biswas during a function at Netaji Indoor Stadium here on Monday afternoon. 

He urged the Chief Minister to set up a table tennis academy. Banerjee had also felicitated Chatterjee at the event. 

The programme was held to felicitate Mouma Das for her success in recent tournaments.  Banerjee had handed over a Rs 2 lakh cheque to Das. 

Banerjee said that the state government would support table tennis players. She said that despite limited resources, the state government had taken steps to promote young talents in various sports. 

The sports personalities of by gone era have also been felicitated. It may be recalled that 33rd world table was held in Kolkata in 1975, forty years ago. The Netaji Indoor Stadium and Khudiram Anushilan Kendra were inaugurated for the world event by the then Chief Minister Siddhartha Shankar Roy. Over the years despite repeated requests the Left Front government did not set up an academy to train table tennis players. It was the effort of individual players who had worn the tournaments.