KARACHI, Dec 13: A five-day basic table tennis umpires course which was due to commence at a local hotel on Friday has been deferred for a day due to delay in arrival of ITTF course conductor from India.

“The ITTF qualified referee, Neela Kanta Ganesh Iyer, who was supposed to arrive here from Mumbai on Thursday, is now expected to reach on Friday to carry out the assignment,” an official of the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) told Dawn.

PTTF president, S.M. Sibtain, said the duration of the course has been curtailed from five to four days which concludes on Dec 18. The course is being attended by 24 men and women referees belonging to all the four provinces. The participants who have assembled in the city are lodged at hotel Beach Luxury, which serves as a venue for the course.

Meanwhile, the PTTF has decided to conduct an introductory meeting on Friday at 10.00am while the formal opening of the course takes place the next day.

This is, perhaps, for the first time that a basic umpires’ course is being held under the aegis of PTTF.