Top Indian table tennis players feel the soon to begin TT Maha league will only do good for the sport in India.
There is no one better than Sharath Kamal to speak on leagues. The Chennai-born paddler, who is currently playing for Borussia Dusseldorf in German Bundesliga, has had his fair share of experience of playing in leagues.
After having stints in Spain and Sweden, he has become a household name for the German club. "In 2004 I moved to Europe and I have been playing regularly every weekend and practicing quite often. Financially, first you must invest and once people know you, it will become less expensive for you," he said on his experiences in European leagues.
Now he believes starting a league of its own for table tennis in India will help the country massively to match the European standards. "Indian players will get to be with the foreign players and coaches and it will be very helpful for them," he said.
Soumyajit Gosh concurs with Sharath's views and believes more the players are connected with the foreign players, the better it will be for them. "We will be connected with the top ranked players before, during and after the match. We can learn a lot. Those small details are very important. We can get to know about how the players are reacting and performing. It will also help in good team work," he said.
Manika Batra believes the media coverage will be the biggest plus point. "Due to the media coverage, everyone will see the players. It will help us," she said. On moving to Europe to play in leagues, she said: "After Olympics I will think about moving to abroad and playing in leagues."
However, one player Mouma Das (in pic.) has no intention of going abroad to be part of the leagues as she is too scared to stay alone.
"I got offers from Spain and Portugal but I am scared to stay alone. Even in morning I cannot be alone in the house. I need my husband or neighbours to be with me," she said. "When I am travelling with the India team, that is fine as I have other players with me, but staying alone is different."