It’s almost a year the Indian men’s and women’s table tennis teams have been without a foreign coach. Dejan Papic was supposed to join the team, in August, but a knee surgery has put paid to that.
Sharath Kamal, one of the mainstays of the Indian men’s team, said it has not helped the team’s preparations and in its quest to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Longest wait
“This is the longest wait we’ve ever had in terms of appointment of a foreign coach. After the 2010 Commonwealth Games, we had a long wait due to scams. It was a three-six month wait for a coach [then]. [Now] it is hitting us hard,” said Sharath.
He said the immediate focus of the team will be the Asian championship from September 15 to 22 in Bali (Indonesia).
The squad will then be competing in Pro Tours, including the Swedish Open, German Open and Austrian Open.
Golden opportunity
According to Sharath, India does stand a chance of winning a medal in men’s doubles comprising himself and Sathiyan in the Asian championships.
“In the team event, we have generally made it to the quarterfinals. This time, if we could make it to the semifinals and win a medal, it would be great,” said Sharath.
The former Commonwealth Games champion said the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has agreed to postpone the senior National championships, scheduled for the second week of January 2020 in Telangana, so that the team could concentrate on the Olympic qualification [team] tournament in Gondomar (Portugal) from January 22 to 26.
