Foreign players laud Indian counterparts

When the Ultimate Table Tennis was devised, it was to provide an exposure to other players to train and learn from the best in the business — all at home. And with just three days into the league, the Indian players have impressed their foreign counterparts. 

Dabang Smashers’ Marcos Freitas, ranked 14 in the world, has lauded the Indians to be tactically advanced. “I can see that the Indians are very talented. From what I have seen, the men are better than women. You can see the results, the men can win games playing against some of the world’s best. They are young and they can improve. This tournament is big for them,” he said. Freitas said he had wished for a tournament like the UTT in his formative years. “I wish I had this experience in Portugal when I was growing up. It is not just to play against foreign and experienced players, these leagues are all about to learn from how the best players practise and plan their strategies before going to play,” the Portugal player added.

World No. 9 Han Ying too was impressed with the Indians. “I was surprised. They (Indian players) are so good. They are very technologically advanced. They want to improve and have a good work ethic. They want to practise with us and UTT makes a good exposure league for them,” she explained. 

China’s Wu Yang said the league has been impressive. “The first impression of the league and Indian players is fantastic. I haven’t seen much of Indian players play earlier, but what I see is they are very good in the sport,” she said.