A recreational sport the world over, including the decks of ships, where it is
played as 'Deck Tennikoit' the game of tennikoit in India has been a competitive sport
since 1965.
Till 1965, tennikoit in India was also played according to the 'YMCA or Buck' rules, which
did not clearly define the competitive nature of the game. In 1965, a group of tennikoit
lovers from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh decided to streamline the rules of
the game by including a specific duration of 20 minutes per set. Thus was formed the
unofficial and unrecognised National Tennikoit Federation of India.
The three states continued to dominate the game and with the financial support from an
Andhra Pradesh businessman, Mr. T. Ramamurthy, organised the National Championships for
men and women. The game soon spread to other states and gained in popularity especially in
West Bengal, Maharashtra, Kerala and Bihar. The untiring, unstinted and dedicated efforts
of the group paid dividends in 1980 when the Union Government recognised the game and the
national federation. Mr. Ramamurthy was officially elected to the office of
Secretary-General of the government-recognised National Federation. He continued for a
second term, before paving the way for Mr. B.S. Nagaraja of Karnataka, who has also
returned to office for a second term.
The Union Government also provided a one-time grant of Rs. 20,000 in 1980 to the National
Federation to conduct the National Championships for men and women and soon the federation
also introduced the National Championships for junior boys and girls in the age group of
14 to 18 years. The grant was gradually increased to Rs. 75,000 by 1988 and at the behest
of the Union Government, the federation also introduced the sub-junior Nationals for boys
and girls below 14 years of age in 1985. The government made it mandatory for the
federation to introduce the sub-junior event that year if it wanted to draw the grant.
Though the federation received Rs. 50,000 during 1991-92, the government has stopped the
grants to non-Olympic games following India's continued poor showing in the International
sports arena.
The federation has since grown in strength and now conducts annual events under the
following categories: Team championships for men and women on the Davis Cup pattern, i.e.,
two singles, one doubles and two reverse singles matches - unlike in tennis, in tennikoit
team championships, the reverse singles matches are dropped if a team takes a winning 3-0
lead by winning the two singles and doubles matches; senior National Championships for men
and women, junior National Championships for boys and girls and the Sub-Junior National
Championships for boys and girls.
Sadguru of Andhra Pradesh and Parameshwari of Tamil Nadu have respectively won the
national titles for men and women for a record eight times. In 1993, Karnataka's
17-year-old, Anitha Chennaveer dethroned Parameshwari from the top spot by claiming the
senior women's title. Anitha also scored a double by winning the Junior National Champion.
Andhra Pradesh has dominated the team championship for men by retaining the title for
nearly two decades.
Among women, the team championship has been rotationally shared by Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Karnataka, however, holds sway in the junior and sub-junior
categories for boys and girls. Some of the other players of repute include Shyam Sundar,
Ananthasayanam, Choundamma and J.N. Pradeep.
The game of tennikoit is played with rings with a diameter of 16 cms and thickness of 3
cms on a court measuring 40 feet by 18 feet with a net at the centre with a height of six
feet one inch at the poles and six feet at the centre. To make the game fast and
interesting, the duration of a 21-point set has been reduced to 15 minutes and the
13-point rally to break a tie has been replaced by sudden death. A winner is decided on a
best-of-three set basis. |