With the launch of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), another glitzy league has arrived on the Indian sporting stage. But what would be the biggest gain for Indian table tennis from itIJ According to some of the leading Indian players, it would be the experience of playing alongside top international stars.
Soumyajit Ghosh, currently the No 3 Indian paddler according to the rankings and a key member of Shaze Challengers side, believes the presence of top players from around the globe will provide a golden opportunity for his compatriots.
"Some of the best players in the world are playing here, so it's a great opportunity for us to play alongside them. It also provides a chance for Indian players to beat them and show we are as good as them. It's important for us to prove ourselves against these big players," he said.
Mouma Das, another member of the Shaze side and 2010 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, feels the international stars would bring a new perspective and provide much-needed technical inputs for Indian players.
"In India, most of our players are 'choppers' and we don't have any defensive players, especially among girls, as well as few left-handed players. Most of the foreign players in this league are also 'choppers.' We face a lot of problems playing against them. For instance, when I played a couple of matches recently in Chennai, I was able to progress to scores in the region of 9-10 but after that I just couldn't understand what was going on.
"Maybe they changed their style or something but it caused me to lose the matches. There is a bit of confusion in my mind regarding the strategy they are employing. But one benefit of playing with these players is that we are getting to learn how to deal with the challenge of playing against them.
"Our coach (Elena Timina) was also a defensive player in her playing days while my teammate Petrissa Solja is a left-hander. Along with them, we also have Han Ying in our side who is a top player, so I am getting to learn a lot from them. Earlier, I knew very little but I am picking up new tricks from them," she explained.
Das also feels that UTT would improve the prospects of women players.
"This league is meant to promote table tennis in India just as similar leagues have been launched for other sports. Many of our male players have made it to the Top-100 in rankings. As far as female players are concerned, we don't have the same kind of opportunities as male players but we have also progressed in recent times with players such as Manika Batra and myself improving our rankings. The more we play, the better our rankings would be and this league presents a good opportunity to the beginners to establish themselves," she added.
Ghosh, on the other hand, believes that fitness is an essential ingredient for success in modern TT. "Table tennis is a really fast game and it involves a lot of speed and skill. Now physical fitness has a very high value in this sport. One requires a great deal of physical fitness and that has become the most important aspect of this game. You can no longer rely only on skills and that has been a major change," he said.
Both players are now looking forward to improving their performances in the major tournaments in coming years.
"My only focus right now is the Commonwealth Game due to be held next year. Hopefully we would be able to improve our rankings which will ensure good seedings when the games come around," asserted the veteran Das.
Ghosh is looking even further. "We are No 14 in the world right now and if we can get into the Top-4 and possibly get a medal in the Olympics, it would be a huge achievement for us."
But Ghosh strikes a note of caution when asked about the chances of India challenging China’s hegemony. “We have to remember that the Chinese are still very strong and table tennis is their national sport. It's not just Indians but players from around the world who have struggled against them. A country like Japan who have been No 2 in the world have also not been able to successfully challenge them. So, we must have some patience and realize that it's not that easy to beat them in this sport.”