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The best to happen for TT
India’s top ranked paddler A Sharath Kamal says Ultimate Table Tennis, the country’s first professional league, will act as a catalyst in popularising the sport
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Chennai
Had this league happened two decades earlier, I might not have gone to Europe at all,” said Achanta Sharath Kamal, as we settle down for a tete-a-tete on the nitty gritty of Ultimate Table Tennis league that begins on July 13.
The first trait I notice about Sharath is the way he is cool, calm and collected. As we get talking about the league, a sense of pride envelops the ace paddler. He knows, being the India’s top ranked player, he should carry the sport’s reputation on his shoulders. “I will be happy to take the lead. I have always been the lead player for Indians. Now, the foreign players are stepping into our country and it is our duty to guide them. So, I will be happy to take the lead. In short, it is like I am the ambassador of the sport,” he said.
The more we get talking about the sport, Sharath gives an insight into the league, his team and a lot more.
Excerpts:
What can this league do to Indian table tennis?
This league should take Indian table tennis to the next level. We have a lot of foreign players and coaches taking part in the league. There is a huge investment that is being done to popularise the sport. This is the best chance where a lot of things can be learnt by the Indian players. We have a golden opportunity to train with the foreign players and playing against them, we hope to learn from the foreign coaches. It is like a three-week exposure tournament, the kind of the one we get in Europe.
Can you throw more light into what do you mean by taking Indian TT to the next level?
We are ranked 14th or 15th in the world when it comes to doubles. When I say the next level, I see India in the top-8 in the world, where we can play at least in the quarter-finals stage in World Championships. That’s where this league or this exposure should take us.
You hinted about not wanting to go abroad if this league happened two decades earlier. Why?
This is the kind of exposure I wanted when I went to Europe 14 years ago. Because when we have matches every weekend for a long duration, we get the required exposure in the international scene. Once that happens, you won’t be intimidated by seeing the big names in the field. You will be a part of them, one of them. That sense of oneness should happen, and it won’t happen in a three week period too. Hopefully, the league would expand to a longer duration and the players can get benefited. In fact, this is how all other sports also started, from a small league to a big one.
How important is infrastructure amid all this?
It is very important. That is one major area in Indian sport where we lack. Probably, if the league is successful, more players will play, and that, in turn will translate into the need for more infrastructure. It is the system that needs to produce players. I hope this league can do that.
What about your team, the RPSG Mavericks. At the outset, it appears that it has more established men than women.
The team is nicely designed. We have two top-20 players, and myself the best Indian, hence the men are strong. Archana Kamath is very young and it will be interesting to see where she stands when she plays against foreign players. The team is a well-knit group. I know all of them well. Most of them have played in Europe. The coach is German who was also the Indian team coach for a while. So, I am confident that the camaraderie in the team will be top notch. What will be interesting is the format of the league, on who plays where, which player plays against a foreign player etc.
How does Sharath’s immediate future look like?
I am not thinking about what is next after table tennis. The truth is, I have been playing my best table tennis. I don’t want to think until I lose my 100% here. At this moment, I am taking it year after year. The Commonwealth Games in 2018 is the immediate goal. I want to win a gold medal and hear the national anthem. Then 2019 will be lighter (in terms of work load) as I want to compete in the 2020 Olympics. I cannot go on increasing my work load till 2020, before which I want to break into top30. That might help in being seeded in the top-10 in the Olympics.
Being an individual sport, how easy or hard is it to keep your emotions under check. How do you manage yourself when you win or lose?
When I was between 8 and 14 years old, I had a wide range of emotions. I used to cry, break racquets too. Once, I even went under the table and cried and refused to come out after losing to a senior player. But it was my coach and uncle Muralidhara Rao, who must take the credit for this. He always wanted positive emotions. There were days when we were sent out when we showed negative expressions. He wanted a positive attitude and that has grown on us. I understand the importance of all that now. When you start a negative emotion, the opponent gets you easily. You lose focus on the game. You are spending more time on why you have lost rather than what is needed to focus on. So, I have learnt to keep everything under my control.
IN A NUTSHELL
- Each team will play nine matches in a tie, with each match comprising three games.
- The team which scores 11 points first will be the winner. In the event of the scores being 10-all, the 11th point will be a golden point.
- The team that wins 14 or more games out of the 27 in a match will be the winner.
- The top four teams from the league table will qualify for the playoffs.
- TOP MEN’S PLAYER - World No.7 Wong Chun Ting, will play for DHFL Maharashtra United
- TOP WOMEN’S PLAYER - Han Ying of Germany, will play for Shazé Challengers
FRANCHISES:
Dabang Smashers TTC
RP-SG Mavericks
DHFL Maharashtra United
Falcons TTC
Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas
Shazé Challengers
Ultimate Table Tennis League schedule
Chennai
- July 13 RP-SG Mavericks vs Falcons TTC
- July 14 iProspect Challengers vs Dabang Smashers TTC
- July 15 Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas vs Maharashtra United
- July 16 Dabang Smashers vs TTC Falcons
- July 17 Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas vs iProspect Challengers
- July 18 Maharashtra United vs RP-SG Mavericks
- July 19 Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas vs Falcons TTC
- July 20 Dabang Smashers TTC vs RP-SG Mavericks
Delhi
- July 21 iProspect Challengers vs Falcons TTC
- July 22 Maharashtra United vs Dabang Smashers TTC
- July 23 Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas vs RP-SG Mavericks
- July 24 Maharashtra United vs iProspect Challengers
- July 25 Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas vs Dabang Smashers TTC
Mumbai
- July 26 Maharashtra United vs Falcons TTC
- July 27 iProspect Challengers vs RP-SG Mavericks
- July 28 Semifinal 1: Team 1 vs Team 4
- July 29 Semifinal 2: Team 2 vs Team 3
- July 30 Final
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