Indian TT contingent to have national training camp at WTT Smash event in China | Sport-others News

At the last World Table Tennis (WTT) Smash event which was held in Saudi in May, out of the 12 Indians that participated, only a couple of them– Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal – waited till the first day of the main draw. Those who lost during the qualification rounds of international TT’s high-profile circuit events had to pack their bags and leave the following day.If the upcoming China Smash is a precursor, Indian players may end up waiting back at major events, irrespective of winning or losing. To have more national camps, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) is trying to work around the exhaustive WTT calendar having national camps at major international events.
With all WTT events being in a knockout format, players sometimes travel halfway around the world and if they lose their opening qualification match, they have no option but to return home or travel to their next destination.
The China Smash begins on September 26 and runs till October 6 while the Asian Championships begin on October 7 in Astana, Kazakhstan. Though Indians aren’t expected to go deep into the Beijing tournament — India’s best showing is a quarterfinal in men’s and women’s singles — it would be a logical headache to get the players back for a national camp to India and then fly out again to Astana.
So the TTFI and coach Massimo Costantini decided to have a training camp at the venue of the China Smash itself. It also helps that a direct flight from Beijing to Astana is just under six hours as opposed to the 11 hours it would take from Bengaluru (where national camps are held) to Astana.
It’s also something that Costantini is looking at doing on a long-term basis, especially at major WTT events where most of the Indian team will be participating anyway.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Costantini said it’s going to be a unique experience for the Indian players.
“It will be unusual championships, where they are not only training for the ongoing tournament but also preparing for the next tournament. I don’t think it’s happened before. But this is the WTT calendar, and we have to adjust and adapt in the best way. Normally players take rest after their matches, but maybe – depending on their physical condition – there won’t be much time to rest,” he said.
Sparring potential
Waiting back also gives them an opportunity to study their opponents better and maybe even spar with them.
“The thought is very simple. With the Asian Championships coming up we had no other options but to mix our preparation with the Smash. That’s why we will have the full contingent there, the support staff and everyone,” said Costantini, revealing that contingent size will be about 18 people.
If a player loses at a WTT event, he has to check out of the hotel the following day and isn’t allowed to train at the practice tables at the arena either. Instead of booking a separate training arena in Beijing, the TTFI has agreed to pay WTT a fee in order to allow the players to continue using the privileges.
“Most of the countries who are playing at the Asian Championships will be there in China and they too I suppose will be doing something similar,” says Costantini. “The idea of staying at the WTT arena is to maintain a competitive environment. You also get to spar with some of the best players in the world, so that’s an added incentive,” he says.
When asked if the TTFI asks for foreign players as sparring partners, Costantini interestingly, said it’s sometimes the other way around.
“Generally, we just play with whoever is at the practice tables. The players know each other as they constantly meet on the circuit. Of late, it’s more of other people coming to us and asking if they can play with us. So yes, I don’t think sparring partners will be a problem. Even if there aren’t other international players, our players can practice against each other and that’s good enough,” Costantini said.
New doubles pairings
One of the many things Massimo hopes to hit the ground running with is the new mixed doubles pairing — Manika with Manav Thakkar and G Sathiyan with Sreeja Akula.

While Sathiyan and Sreeja have played together before, it will be the first time Manika and Manav will be partnering, and a lot is expected of their partnership since they’re expected to be India’s top pairing in this Olympic cycle.