Hukam Singh, controller of table tennis in Delhi, is dead

Hukam Singh Phokela, the strongman of Delhi table tennis for close to five decades, has died following a heart attack. He was 83.

Hukam Singh, who died Tuesday, was the real power in the capital's table tennis circuit, irrespective of the post he held. He was joint secretary, secretary, treasurer and organising secretary of the Delhi Table Tennis Association (DTTA) and his home address 6, Beadon Pura, Karol Bagh, was synonymous with table tennis in the city.

Hukam Singh left the village of his birth Talaganj in Campellpur district near Rawalpindi as an 18-year-old during partition and joined the Engineering Division of All India Radio in Delhi in 1952. From umpiring table tennis matches at Akashvani Bhawan, he started playing the game.

His passion for the game brought him to the organisational fold and as DTTA secretary he saw the association grow from a body of 20 affiliated units to over 100, with over 1,500 registered players on its rolls.

When he took over there were only four tournaments played with 32 players on two tables. He packed the calendar with 12 tournaments, including inter-school, inter-college and the highly popular inter-club events played over ten tables. The NDMC indoor stadium at Talkatora Gardens used to be packed to capacity to watch the matches.

During his stewardship, Delhi was among the top states at the national championships and won the team title quite a few times. Former national champions Manjit Dua, Indu Puri and Manmeet Singh all played for Delhi.

Hukam Singh's iron-fisted control over the association, however, led to quite a few coup attempts, till the association was suspended by the national federation last year.

Ironically, the man who suspended him, Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) secretary general Mool Chand Chowhan, 82, died seven weeks ago. The two had been friends and colleagues for years.

A key official in the TTFI, having served as chairman of its Technical and Classification Committees, Hukam Singh was also manager of Indian teams to various international tournaments, including the 2003 World Championships in Paris.

Last updated on Nov 4^th, 2009 at 12:58 pm IST--IANS