| Dr. Chandra Madhosingh - A Pioneer in Table Tennis |
Chandra began table tennis in Trinidad in his youth as a player and has continued to provide support in every aspect of the sport. As a player in 1950, Chandra represented his secondary school and won the title of Junior Champion. That was the beginning of a long and productive career that has provided Chandra with a lifetime of accomplishments and awards in his chosen sport.
British Columbia can proudly say that they have a founding member of the original BCTTA from 1960 – Chandra. In 1964, he was appointed as Canada’s Chief Umpire and laid the framework for officials’ development. In 1971, Chandra assisted Geogrge Jovanov (ON) and Jacques Bobet (QC) with the formation of a junior development committee and acted as coach for the first team to travel to China under the “Ping Pong Diplomacy” era for Canada. In 1977, Chandra attended the World Championships as an umpire along with three other Canadians. He was selected to umpire the men’s final between Kohno and Guo. In 1992, Chandra, along with Joe Fisher attended the Olympics in Barcelona. A friendship was forged for a lifetime. Chandra continues to contribute as an official and has recently been selected to attend the National USA Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada in December of 2014.
Congratulations Chandra!
His current commitments are Chairman of the Classification Committee and Technical Committee of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation, special advisor to the ITTF Media Committee, and Canadian Representative to the Swaythling Club International. Chandra has never loss sight of his roots and continues to serve as a Board Member for the BCTTA. This is his 55th year. He aslo was inspirational for the inception of table tennis in the school league from 1971 which has grown over the years.
Of course, this is only his table tennis career. He is also an accomplished educator at University and public high school. After completing his Ph.D, Dr. Madhosingh accepted positions at the public high school and UBC. He is a certified NASA scientist and a lunar rock specialist. He has provided numerous lectures on astrophysics. His was one of the first scientists to fly to Mount St. Helens when it erupted and gather information.
Chandra has received numerous awards and continues to be a dedicated volunteer to Provincial, National and International Table Tennis organizations. Thanks for your service.
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