Cuttack: Odisha Governor Prof. Ganeshi Lal today inaugurated the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here.

A total of 12 nations-- Australia, Bangladesh, Cyprus, England, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Scotland, South Africa, Singapore and Wales-- have participated in the tournament.

India may have got the toughest group opponents from among the teams participating in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, but team captain and ace paddler A. Sharath Kamal is confident that India will retain the Host Associations Cup.

The Indian women, on their strength, should be able to cross the first-stage hurdle without dropping a sweat. However, they could face some stiff competition from Singapore as the hosts approach the final.

Tickets for the sporting event are available on websites insider.in/bhubaneshwar and paytm.com/events/bhubaneswar. After purchase, these are redeemable at the Box Office located at the stadium.

While daily tickets have been priced at Rs 50 and Rs 100, season passes costing Rs 200 and Rs 400 will provide entry for all six days of the tournament.

Here’s the schedule of the tournament:

Men:

Group A: England, Sri Lanka, Cyprus; Group B: India, Singapore, Scotland; Group C: Nigeria, Malaysia, Bangladesh; Group D: Australia, South Africa, Wales

Women:

Group A: Singapore, Wales, Scotland; Group B: India, South Africa, Sri Lanka; Group C: Australia, Malaysia, Cyprus; Group D: Nigeria, England, Bangladesh