PANAJI: Lily Zhang has witnessed a sea change in Indian table tennis since she first stepped into the country a decade ago.
She was in Hyderabad for the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in 2012, and the American Olympian who picked up a bronze two years later, is happy to see how much the sport has grown in this part of the world.
“From then till now, I have seen huge improvements in Indian table tennis,” Zhang, who made history when she won the US a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the Worlds, told TOI during a media conference on Monday. “There’s Manika (Batra) and Sathiyan (Gnanasekaran), besides a host of young players as well. That's super encouraging. It’s great to see table tennis flourish anywhere. I feel, once Indian table tennis flourishes, the rest of the world also benefits.”
For almost two decades, it was Sharath Kamal waging a lone battle in international tournaments, but now the likes of Batra, Sathiyan and Sreeja Akula have grabbed attention, winning medals at the Asian Cup, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
“We have to make India a table tennis destination,” said Sathiyan, speaking on the opening day of the WTT Star Contender at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium in Taleigao. “I have travelled across the world, but to play in your home country is always a very special feeling. We are super excited to represent India and hope there will be a lot of people coming to support us. We will give our best to take India table tennis to the next level.”
Sathiyan has enough experience of playing in World Table Tennis events and wants to better his best performance--a quarterfinal spot. With the world’s eyes on India, the paddler feels this is the best time to “make people believe” in the sport.
“The competition is very tough, one of the toughest in WTT. I will be happy if I can pull off a couple of upsets. The aim will be to beat some good players. That will be more satisfactory,” said Sathiyan, who will participate in all three events in the championship.
In recent times, it has been Batra turning heads with her eye-catching performances, and though she is not in the “best of condition” – a sore throat – at the moment, she will still be one of the undisputed stars in Goa.
“I am not pressuring myself,” said Batra, India’s top paddler and World No. 34. “I want to enjoy myself, do my best and give 100 per cent in every game. I just go match by match, giving the best I can for my country. I have trained well and will strategise according to the match.”
National women’s champion Sreeja is another name who can create more than just an upset. Having won her maiden national crown in April last year, she experienced the high of a Commonwealth Games gold in the mixed doubles in Birmingham last year. She is now targeting the WTT Star Contender.
“I want to take everything match by match, try and enjoy my game. This is my third time at Star Contender, and I have made it to the pre-quarters in the past. I hope to make it to the quarters,” said Sreeja.
Should Sreeja make it to the last-eight stage, and others create a few upsets in Goa, Indian table tennis would have provided another fine illustration of the change in the sport over the last few years.
