A wild, top-of-the-table celebration is set to cost the new Indian table tennis champion A Amalraj a quarter of his winner's purse, the national federation has said in a statement.
Pitted against six-time national champion Achanta Sharath Kamal in the final of the men's event at the
73rd Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships on Sunday, Amalraj had a difficult job at hand.
The 25-year-old paddler conjured up a special performance though to eke out an 11-8, 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8 victory before bursting into a bizarre celebration in Lucknow.
Amalraj, hopeful of qualifying for the London Olympics later this year, first leapt on to the table and hurled his bat before pumping his fists like a man possessed.
The umpire first showed him the yellow card but Amalraj did not care and went merrily around the court, inviting a red card.
He also forgot to shake hands with his opponent until his coach reminded him.
"Now he stands to lose 25% of his ($4,250) prize money," the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) said in a statement, adding the competition manager had recommended the fine.
Even though TTFI claimed Amalraj was penitent, the paddler did not sound so.
"I don't mind losing a portion of the money," said the 25-year-old.
"The celebration was not intentional and I did it in excitement," he added.
"My national level goal has been achieved and I now want to concentrate on even bigger goals. I am off to Germany to train for the Asian and world championships," said the Commonwealth doubles gold medallist.