Table tennis: How Ayhika & Sreeja’s incredible wins over two of China’s best shows Indian TT is on an upswing | Sport-others News
Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula beating the Chinese World No. 1 Sun Yingsha and World No. 2 Wang Yidi respectively is a monumental feat. It maybe easy to dismiss it as a one-off but the fact remains that Indian table tennis has been on an upswing for quite a while now, and the women are at the forefront.“These players, especially the younger ones, have absolutely no fear of any opponents and refuse to be intimidated,” Achanta Sharath Kamal told The Indian Express on the sidelines of the WTT Goa Star Contender last month. “When I was coming up the ranks, I used to fear playing against senior players. The youngsters are the opposite. They want to play against the best to show that they are capable. It’s a total mindset change and you can see it’s why they are doing so well.”
41-year-old Sharath has been the flagbearer of Indian table tennis for almost two decades, from Melbourne to Birmingham. There’s been success at Commonwealth Games recently, as Manika Batra grabbed the spotlight after winning four medals at 2018 Gold Coast. She followed it up with an Asian Games mixed doubles bronze – a first for India – partnering Sharath.
Team India rejoices as Ayhika Mukherjee defeats Sun Yingsha in the first game of their #ITTFWorlds2024 match 🙌
Score stands at 2-1 to India, can Manika Batra cause an upset against Sun Yingsha? Watch NOW 👉 https://t.co/obRmtF5f8o pic.twitter.com/B7AJ1okjZZ
— World Table Tennis (@WTTGlobal) February 16, 2024
Sutirtha and Ayhika Mukherjee then did the unthinkable at the Hangzhou Asiad, winning a women’s doubles bronze, beating a top Chinese pair in their backyard. then it was clear that India could no longer be considered minnows, especially at team events. Friday’s wins at the ITTF team Worlds for Ayhika and Sreeja showed Indians are capable of producing strong results on the big stage.
The change hasn’t come overnight.
Ultimate Table Tennis
Probably the first time Indian paddlers felt like professionals was with the advent of UTT back in 2017. The franchisee-based league was a hit as it had international paddlers in the mix, and players were paid decently. At the time, barring a few, Indians barely went abroad to play or train but now they had that expertise in their backyard. They got to see how they train, and face them in practice sessions. The tournament acted as a catalyst for players like G Sathiyan and Manika, among a host of others.
What an incredibly powerful start our Indian Women’s TT Team in their opening tie against the formidable defending champions, China at the World Team #TableTennis Championships 2024!
Despite a close 🇨🇳3-2🇮🇳 encounter, our girls displayed remarkable grit and potential for the… pic.twitter.com/rrjMcg9M33
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) February 16, 2024
“UTT gave me the exposure against international players which I lacked,” Sathiyan had said. “We saw what we lacked and understood what needed to be done to reach that level. More importantly, it gave us confidence against the best players because we trained with them so we were no longer intimidated them.”
Sponsorships and government funding
Kamlesh Mehta, general secretary of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) says that the push the government has helped, especially with schemes like the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPs) and Khelo India.
“The government’s support for athletes has been scaled up,” Mehta, a legend of the sport in India, tells this daily. “You see how much the backroom staff has improved. You have physios accompanying them, they have mental trainers, psychologs. It’s made a huge difference.”
Credit is also due to private organisations and NGOs – like Olympic Gold Quest, Lakshya Foundation, Dream Sports Foundation, and GoSports Foundation – who take care of athletes’ day-to-day routines. They have also been benefitting from private companies like Reliance Foundation and JSW.
Somnath Ghosh, coach of Sreeja, says funds are no longer a concern which removes a huge burden.“The biggest expense of TT players was going abroad to train and play tournaments. Only the very wealthy players could manage that. Now these organisations are willing to give athletes whatever they want. I’ve seen it with Sreeja. They called her up only to ask what she wants ahead of the Olympics and they would arrange everything,” Somnath says.
Academies and coaches
Table tennis clubs aren’t new but the number multiplied after Sharath put India on the map and Manika showed that it was possible to beat the best. It’s 30-40-year-old former coaches who are now starting academies that are churning out exciting talent.
Somnath, a former player who now runs his academy in a Hyderabad mall, says coaches like himself are pushing players to do well on the international level.
“Earlier one would be happy if they did well at the national level,” Somnath says. “But now, players like myself have seen that it isn’t enough, and more so, we know that it’s possible to beat top players. Though we have a lot more to do in the scientific aspect of the sport, we’re slowly getting there. The Chinese are powerhouses because of the sheer number of coaches and academies they have in every drict. We’re surely in the right direction.”
