FCI badminton, TT today

PANJIM, FEB 19
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) will organise its 33rd badminton and 29th table tennis tournaments in association with Goa Badminton and Table Tennis Associations, from February 20 to 22 at Campal stadium.
Teams from six FCI zones will be taking part. They are: west zone, comprising Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Chhatisgarh, east zone comprising Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim, north zone consisting of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and south zone made up of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, northeast zone comprising Assam, Meghalaya and other north-eastern states and headquarters and New Delhi making up the sixth zone. 
The teams consist of not only the departmental players but include stipend holders who are students as well as upcoming talents.
FCI has been encouraging young and budding talent by awarding them stipends, which vary from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 depending on age. There are two Goan students who draw stipends from the FCI currently, namely Royston Pereira and Caddy Furtado (both footballers).
One of the prominent stipend holders in the past was Sourav Ganguly ,who went on to become a top cricketer.
Every year, the Corporation takes about 140 candidates at the all-India level. Outstanding sportspersons are then absorbed by the Corporation. Shiny Wilson and Karnam Malleshwari are the two examples.
The FCI will also organise another badminton tournament, the all-India public sector badminton tournament in Goa from February 24 to 27.