Junior TT players gear up for World Championship
November 11th, 2011 - 9:34 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) Hopes will be high from India’s paddlers in the Volkswagen 2011 World Junior Table Tennis Championships to be held at Manama, Bahrain from Sunday.
The stint at the Peter Karlsson Academy in Sweden has filled them with confidence.
The team comprises Soumyajit Ghosh, ranked 25 in the world, Harmeet Desai (WR 26), G.Sathiyan (WR 40) and Sourav Saha (WR 111).
The performed well at the Asian Juniors in New Delhi, where the field saw world-beaters from China, Japan and Taipei, earlier this year.
Subsequently, at the Indian Open in Dehra Dun, the boys did exceedingly well to claim team titles in the Junior and Cadet sections.
The girls too joined the party despite Manika Batra not being in the best of her form. The training stint in Sweden seems to have done a world of good them before the world championships.
Coach Kamlesh Mehta, speaking from Sweden, exuded confidence of a good performance. “All are in good shape and frame of mind. They know the field at Bahrain well and are prepared to meet the challenge. The training and some competitions have helped them hone their skills. I am sure they will put their best foot forward. I expect the boys to finish on the podium.”
This is the first time both the boys and girls teams have qualified for the world junior team championships. Last year, only the boys’ team had qualified.
The boys’ team is ranked fifth in the world while the girls are 12th. “For the boys it’s a great opportunity and being ranked fifth means they are that much closer to the podium as well as have some extra responsibility. They do realise that and it will help them at Bahrain,” the coach said.
India had won a mixed bronze in the last world championships and the likes of Batra, who is ranked 37th in the world, along with Mallika Bhandarkar (WR 118), Ankita Das (WR 87) and Reeth Rishya (WR 160) can give their opponents some anxious moments on their day.
“I am sure the boys will come with a medal this time but it could be a little difficult for the girls,” said TTFI secretary-general Dhanraj Choudhary.
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Tags: ankita, anxious moments, batra, best foot, boys and girls, boys team, china japan, dehra dun, desai, ghosh, girls teams, good shape, junior tt, paddlers, peter karlsson, reeth, sourav, table tennis championships, team titles, world beaters