New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS): An Indian table tennis team is on its way to China for training-cum-competition ahead of the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games here.
India are the defending Commonwealth Games champions in the men's team event and the singles event (Sharath Kamal).
Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) secretary general Dhanraj Choudhary said the Indian squad, comprising nine men and seven women, will first play in the China Open starting Aug 18, and then spend a month there to train ahead of the Games.
"The players will participate in the China Open and after that will stay there for training in Zhending until Sep 12. The trip is planned in such a way that our players peak at the right time and are ready to defend their men’s team title, women to try and improve upon their bronze position and Kamal to retain his singles title," Choudhary told IANS.
The players feel that taking part in the China Open will give them the opportunity to play higher ranked players and also face those who would be competing in the October Games.
"Other Commonwealth nations like Canada, Singapore and Australia have imported Chinese players. We will get to play with them. The trip will provide us the right exposure we need before the New Delhi Games," said World number 191 Amalraj Anthony.
The Indian players are confident of a good showing in the Commonwealth Games after all the preparatory training and competition.
"There is no better place than China when it comes to training and competition. We are going there at the right time. Training in China has always been a great learning experience. We have gone there four times in the last one year," said Kamal, India’s highest ranked player in the world at 39.
Foreign coach Massimo Constantini has been with the Indian team for the last 18 months. He called Sharath a great champion and said that the other members of the squad get motivated when they see their team mate winning titles at the International level.
"Sharath has been playing fantastic. It is the result of the hard work put in by the team. Frequent foreign tours have helped the whole team immensely. Not many countries fund their players to go outside and train."
On India's chances at the Commonwealth Games, he said: "A lot of it would depend on the draw. The men’s team has a good chance of winning a medal. The women’s team chances entirely depend on who they play. If they meet Singapore in the quarterfinals, then what can you do?"