Vishwa Deenadayalan, an 18-year-old table tennis player from Tamil Nadu, died in a road accident while travelling from Guwahati to Shillong by taxi on Sunday, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) said in a statement. He was travelling with three teammates from Guwahati to Shillong for the 83rd Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships, which is scheduled to begin on Monday. Ramesh Santosh Kumar, Abinash Prasannaji Srinivasan and Kishore Kumar, the three others travelling with Vishwa, suffered severe injuries but have been declared stable by the doctors attending to them.
"A 12-wheel trailer, coming from the opposite direction, ploughed through the road divider and hit the taxi at Shangbangla, just after the Umliy check post, and plunged into the gorge," the TTFI release stated.
The taxi driver died on the spot, while Vishwa was declared brought dead by the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences.
Vishwa and his three teammates were rushed to the hospital by the organisers with the help of the Meghalaya government.
Vishwa, a promising player with several national ranking titles and international medals to his credit, was to represent India at the WTT Youth Contender at Linz, Austria, from April 27. Vishwa, a product of Krishnaswamy TT Club in Anna Nagar, was trained by Ramnath Prasad and Jai Prabhu Ram had come in for praise from none other than Sharath Kamal. The ace paddler rated him as a highly-talented boy with a lot of promise.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma mourned his death.
"Saddened to learn that Tamil Nadu paddler, Deenadayalan Vishwa passed away after an accident in Ri Bhoi District while on his way to Shillong to participate in the 83rd Senior National Table Tennis Championship in our State," he tweeted.
He also condoled the death of the taxi driver in the accident.
Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala condoled his death and announced Rs 5 lakh as compensation for his family.
Vishwa's rise to stardom was also steady. His transition from Cadet to Sub-Junior to Junior section was an eye-opener for any teenager aspiring to make it big. He had won the Cadet and Sub-Junior National titles also.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also condoled the death of table tennis player Vishwa Deenadayalan.
Stalin said Vishwa was a legend in the making and it pains him that the player left too soon. The Tamil Nadu CM announced Rs 10 Lakh relief for parents of table tennis player Vishwa Deenadayalan, who died in a road accident while travelling from Guwahati to Shillong on Sunday.