Table Tennis Federation of India informed that Hyderabad is to bag the honors of holding the TT Juniors Championships.

The TT Federation of India Secretary-General Dhanraj Choudhary informed that the World Junior Championships in 2013 is likely to be hosted in Hyderabad. He further informed that the Andhra Pradesh Table Tennis Association has expressed willingness to host the event, this year too and a decision will be made on this after inspection of the venue and other facilities. An official communiqué from the association was released on Monday at the National Capital.

The release states that the 2012 edition of the event was originally allotted to South Africa and was to be held between December 9 and 16, Indian Table Tennis Federation (TTFI) said in statement. But the South African federation expressed its inability to host this year's championships citing some unforeseen reason at home during the executive committee meeting of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) held on Saturday, at Delhi.

Under the circumstances, the event was offered to India, who were originally scheduled to host next year's championships. TTFI readily agreed to host this year's edition at Hyderabad. Mr Choudhary, who attended the meeting at Dortmund, however, said the dates will be announced soon after consulting the Hyderabad Table Tennis Association. "In any case, Hyderabad has agreed to host next year's event during the AGM in New Delhi last month, but we have to see how quickly the association can make arrangements in the next few months, including finding sponsors for the championships," said Choudhary.

As far as the Indian paddlers` chances of qualifying for the London Olympics were concerned, Chaudhary has his hopes pinned on the upcoming qualification tournament, to be held in Hong Kong from April 19 to 22. The paddlers are currently training in Vienna (Austria) for the forthcoming World Championships in Dortmund (Germany) beginning March 24.