India must become a sporting powerhouse: Rijiju

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju thinks that Indian table tennis is on the rise and India must become a global powerhouse in sports.

Rijiju made the comment during the opening ceremony of the third edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis season on Thursday.

Rijiju lauded the efforts of TTFI and UTT for conceptualizing the league and conceded that India has a lot of potential in TT.

"In recent times, we have seen that table tennis is on the rise and they have been winning medals at many international tournaments. The sport has immense potential and I hope someday we will win an Olympic medal in table tennis," Rijiju said during the opening ceremony.

"I compliment UTT for their efforts and believe it has played a huge role in popularising the sport in India. Leagues like these are essential for making a sport popular and I assure everyone that our ministry will do everything to support and promote table tennis in the country," he added.

The third edition of the country's premier table tennis league began today with defending champions Dabang Delhi T.T.C taking on Puneri Paltan at the Thyagaraj Stadium.