Manika’s success spawns big hopes

SHARATH KAMAL MANIKA BATRA G SATHIYAN

OPPORTUNITY After the CWG high, table tennis stars would be keen to win their maiden medal at the continental showpiece

A feisty India broke the stranglehold of Singapore at the Commonwealth Games with Manika Batra showing the way. The eight medals that India won at Gold Coast, which included the men’s and women’s team gold medals, to top the tally in the sport came courtesy some heroic performances, be it new sensation Manika, seasoned Achanta Sharath Kamal or talented G Sathiyan. All punched above their weight to put together a remarkable performance at Gold Coast that perched Indian table tennis on a new pedestal.

At the Asian Games the task will be cut out for the table tennis squad which will be eyeing their first medal at the continental event. However, it will be easier said than done. The competition at the Asian level is the toughest what with the presence of powerhouses like China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong.

But in the last couple of years, Indians have been making waves at the world level. Both men’s and women’s teams played in the elite Championships division of the World Championships this year. It was a truly remarkable achievement for the teams to qualify for the elite level in 2016.

The men’s team finished 11th out of 24 top teams of the world, their best effort since 1987, beating some higher-ranked teams like France, Romania and Singapore in the later stages. It is the men’s team therefore which stands the best chance to make a podium finish. The women’s team finished 16th.

In Jakarta, a lot will be riding on Manika, who has emerged as the poster girl of Indian sport. The Delhi girl inspired the squad at Gold Coast when she beat Singapore’s top player, the world No 11 Tianwei Feng, in the team competition final. That filled her teammates with immense belief that even they can beat the best.

Manika has been vocal about taking Indian table tennis to new heights. She knows that she will have to strike big in major events to be able to achieve that goal. The likes of Saina Nehwal and now PV Sindhu have changed the contours of Indian badminton with their phenomenal performances.

Manika certainly has shown glimpses of the same winning attitude and the responsibility of carrying the hopes on her shoulders.

At the Ultimate Table Tennis, she had some good results including the win against North Korean Kim Song I.

The world has taken note of the

Indian players. Among men, there are three Indians in top 100 — Sharath Kamal (33), G Sathiyan, (39), who was outstanding at Gold Coast, and Harmeet Desai (99) — while Soumyajit Ghosh (109), who is not in the squad and Anthony Amalraj (156) are next. Promising Manav Thakkar , who is ranked No. 5 in u-18 world ranking, is in the squad. Many of them hone their skills in European leagues.

For more than a decade, Sharath Kamal has been keeping the Indian flag flying high in table tennis. The veteran keeps reinventing himself and is a proven match-winner.

At 36, Sharath Kamal is enjoying a new high in his career and this Asian Games could be his last. While he has achieved much success at the Commonwealth Games, breaking new ground and winning a medal at the Asian Games remains high on his priority.

Squad: Men: Achanta Sharath Kamal, G

Sathiyan, Anthony Amalraj, Harmeet Desai. Manav Thakkar

Women: Manika Batra, Mouma Das, Madhurika Patkar, Ayhika Mukherjee, Sutirtha Mukherjee A career-threatening hip injury saw him plummet down the world rankings in 2015. But Sharath Kamal has regained his stature as the country’s top player this month reaching a high of world No. 33. His three medals at CWG, seventh national title and elevation in world rankings shows that he still has the zeal to attain new peaks. With her fearless attitude and tactical acumen, Manika was India’s best athlete at the Commonwealth Games, winning four medals including two gold. She has the knack of beating higher-ranked players and will be pumped up to do well in her second Asian Games. The talent of this 25-year-old was never in doubt but the youngster is now proving his mettle at the world level. He won three medals at Gold Coast CWG and is behind Sharath in the world rankings (39). He became only the second Indian TT player to win an ITTF event when he clinched Belgium Open in 2016.