India’s top two paddlers, G. Sathiyan and A. Sharath Kamal have had some of their best outings in the Asian Cup table tennis tournament.
Both had finished sixth in earlier editions, their best so far. While the 29-year-old Sathiyan did it in the previous edition in 2019, the 40-year-old reigning Commonwealth Games singles champion achieved it in 2015 in Jaipur.
When the three-day 33rd Asian Cup begins in Bangkok on November 17, they would be keen to put up a good show or even improve on their performances. But this time the format is different and it would not be easy. Unlike the earlier editions, it will be a direct knock-out featuring 16 players.
“I had a very good run in 2015 when I upset two players in the top 16 and reached the quarterfinals. I would like to do that again,” said Sharath, ranked 43 in the world, to The Hindu.
Sathiyan too wants to do better than making it to the quarterfinals. “If I get a good draw, there is a good chance of making it to the semifinals. I am keen to cause a few upsets,” said Sathiyan, ranked 37 in the world.
The top male players in the fray include World No. 1 Fan Zhendong, No. 2 Ma Long, No. 3 Liang Jingkun and No. 4 Harimoto Tomokazu among others.
After conceding his quarterfinal match to Soumyajit Ghosh at the 36th National Games in Surat due to a back spasm, Sharath said he is fine and has started training.
The 10-time National champion said that after the Asian Cup he will be taking part in the top division German league for Borussia Dusseldorf in the Bundesliga, Champions League and German Cup from November 24.
After competing in the World team championships in Chengdu (China) from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, Sathiyan was flown in a chartered flight to Macao to participate in the WTT Champions from Oct. 19 to 23.
“There are strict quarantine rules here. We can only train and cannot go to the gym. And we are served food in our rooms and there is daily COVID testing,” he said. After the WTT Champions event, Sathiyan will play in WTT Contender in Slovenia (from Oct. 31 to Nov. 6) and the Asian Cup before participating in the French Pro A league for his club Jura Morez de Table.
