Indian table
tennis failed to flatter at the ongoing Commonwealth games being
played in Glasgow in Scotland. Like the earlier edition in New Delhi, 4 years
back, the men’s team lost the
semi-finals . England beat India 3-1 and
eventually lost to the reigning champion Singapore in the finals by the same
margin. Subsequently India lost out the chance of retaining their bronze medal
when they succumbed to Nigeria by again the same margin.
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| Sharath Kamal exults after defeating Drinkhall in the QF |
The Indian
challenge was led by the veteran paddler Sharath Achanta Kamal, ranked 44th in the world,
who lost not only both
the opening matches against England & Nigeria but also managed to go down once again to Liam Pitchford of England in the men’s singles bronze medal match. Pitchford , 15 ranks below Sharath, had taken the crucial 1-0 lead in the team event but what was surprising was Ojo Onalopo of Nigeria, ranked 484th in the world, beat Sharath in the opening match of the bronze medal event. Sharath at 32 years is not getting any younger and although he deserved to have been in the team for the London Olympics 2 years ago ,( he lost out on points to Soumyajit Ghosh who led the sole challenge only to lose in the 4th round in London) his reflexes & speed have gone down . Pitchford at 21 years was a tad bit faster than Sharath , more aggressive & more energetic too as he methodically decimated Sharath twice at the same venue.
the opening matches against England & Nigeria but also managed to go down once again to Liam Pitchford of England in the men’s singles bronze medal match. Pitchford , 15 ranks below Sharath, had taken the crucial 1-0 lead in the team event but what was surprising was Ojo Onalopo of Nigeria, ranked 484th in the world, beat Sharath in the opening match of the bronze medal event. Sharath at 32 years is not getting any younger and although he deserved to have been in the team for the London Olympics 2 years ago ,( he lost out on points to Soumyajit Ghosh who led the sole challenge only to lose in the 4th round in London) his reflexes & speed have gone down . Pitchford at 21 years was a tad bit faster than Sharath , more aggressive & more energetic too as he methodically decimated Sharath twice at the same venue.
Peter Engel, India’s
coach, who promised atleast five medals in Glasgow2014 could come back with
only one. A silver medal in the Men’s doubles where
Achanta partnered Amalraj , a player who’s been criticized for his unbalanced stance
by experts. Coach Engel played Amalraj and Harmit Desai in the singles matches of
team event & Soumyajit sat out both the matches inspite of his being the
second best ranked player in the Indian team. It was to Soumyajit’s credit that
he reached the QFs of men’s singles
losing out to the eventual Champion & world no 32 , Zhan Jian from Singapore. Although Soumyajit’s performance in the
preceding year has been rather colourless both in the domestic as well as in
the international circuit, one had hoped that Peter Engel will have the sense
& courage to play an younger & worthy opponent in the semis against
England. Pinning all hopes
on an ageing player is like putting all eggs in a ramshackle basket. Peter Engel may be a good motivator but his team selection is totally questionable.
Time the Table Tennis federation of India (TTFI) invest time & money in getting Asian coaches on a long contract from Singapore
& China and also give a befitting farewell to Sharath Achanta Kamal, who had
done India proud for many years and will have his name forever etched in the minds of fans just as of earlier
greats like Chandrasekhar and Kamalesh Mehta. The players of the future are
Soumyajit Ghosh & Harmit Desai and it is these players who should ideally figure in all the
matches for the next 4 years.
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