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What's in an age?

The National Table Tennis Championship, now underway in Rajkot, witnessed yet another controversy when chief referee A.M. Lele postponed the final of the Cadet Boys' event.

The final was to start late evening yesterday, but owing to a protest that one of the finalists is overage, the referee ordered a postponement.

The final was scheduled to be played by Saurav Ghosh and Saumadeep Sarkar, both of Bengal, but it was alleged that Saurav Ghosh was way over the age criterion required for the event.

When asked how the player was allowed to participate at all, Dhanraj Chaudhari, chairman of the technical commettee of the TTFI, said: "The tournament had already started, and we didn't want disruption. Saurav produced his certificate on Thursday, and it was only then confirmed that he was not eligible for the event."

But that was not the end of the controversy. Protests arose from another quarter that the other finalist, Saumadeep Sarkar, was also overaged. His birth certificate stated he was nine, but Sarkar's build was more mature than that.

"Because of the complaint Sarkar was examined medically, and a report is expected later today," the chief referee told rediff.com.

Meanwhile, Lele, obviously exasperated, announced that no final would be played, and the title would remain in limbo.

Meanwhile, the TTFI has to decide on appropriate punishment for the two players.