Table tennis: Central Zone Ranking event from Monday, battle lines drawn before Nationals

After an unprecedented 2020, 2021 opened avenues for table tennis players to step out and enjoy the sport again, thanks to the Tokyo Olympics. Emboldened as they were, the international and national federations followed suit.

The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), taking a few leaves out of these books, successfully conducted three National Ranking events. Held in Panchkula, Mohali, Dehradun and Puducherry, these were the mainstays for the players to log vital points. These points essentially provided them with a launchpad to reach the international stage.

Usually, the national federation conducts five zonal events, with the three Nationals to follow. However, squeezing all of them in a short time was a risky proposition. In that sense, the UTT National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships will be the fourth and last such opportunity for the players to reap the benefits.

The tournament begins in Indore today (3 January).

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Sharath Kamal misses out, Sathiyan to be in action

Understandably, the Central Zone table tennis event has pulled in 1109 players. This includes the second-highest ranked Indian player in the world, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. As many as 228 and 148 players will be competing in men’s and women’s singles, respectively.

While the absence of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra might take the sheen out, others in the fray will look to make up for it.

The significance of table tennis ranking championships is not misplaced as the total entries of 1843, across 12 categories speak volumes of the popularity of these events among the country’s paddlers.

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Read: Keerthana Swaminathan: The sports science and exercise pyschologist behind paddlers

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Manav Thakkar, who missed out on the men’s singles table tennis title at Dehradun and Puducherry, will be itching to go for the crown despite Sathiyan’s presence.

After winning the Petroleum men’s singles title just a couple of days ago, the table tennis player will be oozing with confidence to go for one last hurrah. Winning in Indore will fill him with confidence before the Senior Nationals in Shillong later this month.

Sathiyan, who finished third, could be top-seeded on the basis of his world rankings for this tournament with Sanil Shetty behind him. But Thakkar, who beat Sathiyan in the Petroleum semi-finals and the possible third-seed, could find himself drawn in the first half. He could consequently face Sathiyan in the semi-finals yet again.

Left-hander Shetty is also in red-hot form, having claimed the title in Dehradun, and so is Harmeet Desai, who bagged it in Puducherry. These are the four title aspirants to watch out for at Indore, with the battle intensifying at every stage.

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Top women table tennis players in action

Three players — Prapti Sen, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula — have shared the three titles in the women’s singles so far. But there will be a fourth contender in Archana Kamath challenging their supremacy.

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The PSPB table tennis player won her maiden women’s singles crown, accounting for young Suhana Saini at the Petroleum meet the other evening. Saini, who failed to repeat her Mohali and Dehradun performances at Puducherry, has come of age after her three bronze medals at the Portugal Worlds.

She is a confident youngster with no baggage, and that is also her USP that helped her take on the best in business.

In the Petroleum semis, she accounted for Reeth Rishya before losing 2-4 to Archana in the final.

In other words, one can look up to a fascinating women’s singles final, with the fivesome training their guns. But they can wait until the group matches in both sections get over before the main draw begins the day after.