Chief Minister M.K. Stalin condoled the death of table tennis player D. Vishwa, who was killed in a road accident while he was on his way to take part in the 83rd senior National and inter-State table tennis championships, that began in Shillong, Meghalaya, on Monday.
“While there were expectations that he would bring several laurels, he has left us. I extend my deep condolences to his parents, family members and friends,” Mr. Stalin said in a statement. He also announced a solatium of ₹10 lakh to the family of the deceased.
In a tweet, the Chief Minister said, “Shocked beyond words to hear about the heartbreaking & untimely demise of our young, promising Table Tennis player Vishwa Deenadayalan. He was a legend-in-making and it pains me that he left us too soon. I offer my deepest condolences to his family, friends & sports fraternity.”
The paddler was a first-year B. Com student at Loyola College, and was travelling with other members of the Tamizhaga Table Tennis Association (TTTA) State men’s team - R. Santosh Kumar, D. Kishore Kumar and S. Abhinash Prasannaji. When the car in which they were travelling collided with a lorry, the car driver and Vishwa died on the spot, while the others escaped with injuries.
Later in the day, an official release said the Tamil Nadu government would bear the medical and travel expenses of the sportspersons who were injured in the accident. Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Siva V. Meyyanathan and senior officials visited the deceased’s residence in Chennai and paid floral tributes to him. Anna Nagar MLA M.K. Mohan also paid tributes.
Condolence by Assembly
The Tamil Nadu Assembly also condoled the death of Vishwa.
When the Assembly convened on Monday, Speaker M. Appavu read out a condolence message expressing his shock and sadness over the paddler’s death, following which the MLAs stood in silence for some time.
TNCC president K.S. Alagiri also expressed his condolences to the deceased’s family.
