COIMBATORE: At the recent executive board meeting of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) held in Panchkula in July, it was decided that more weightage would be given to domestic ranking points rather than world rankings.
This system is not only used for assigning seeds to paddlers at domestic-ranking meets, but also while selecting the national team for major competitions.
The decision has seen quite a few low-ranked players make the national cut, with Sutirtha Mukherjee being a case in point. Her world ranking is 558, but she is the reigning national champion and a part of the Asian Games contingent. This rule has ensured that all paddlers play a minimum number of domestic events.
This system has its pros and cons. The decision was taken mainly because the national body and the competition department felt that top paddlers invariably prefer competing in more international events, giving scant regard to domestic tournaments. In effect, national-ranking meets are devoid of star players and also defeat the very purpose of such events, besides taking a severe dent in popularity.
Now the likes of A Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan will have to play at least a few such events. Fatigue might be an issue as their calendar is packed. Apart from matches, paddlers also need time for practice.
“Breaking into the world’s top-30 is a huge deal. To keep my ranking up, I need to play in more World Tour events. This leaves me with very little time to rest. On top of that, we have seven national meets. A balance needs to be reached,” Sathiyan said on the sidelines of the 48th All India Inter-Institutional Championships. The event is being held at Bharathiar University.
National coach Massimo Costantini summed up the selection procedure.
“Currently, 50 points are given for national performance, 30 for international, and 20 are with me. I choose according to the team’s needs, like Ayhika (Mukherjee) for Asian Games. Her unique game can prove troublesome for Asian teams.”
The Italian likes the current policy mainly because a lot of new players have the chance of making the national team.
But Costantini agreed that a flexible approach could be better in the long run. “If seniors stay away from domestic meets, juniors will get the wrong impression. The most important thing is that a paddler can only make it big if he or she first performs in domestic meets. If you break into, let’s say, the top-50, then you can be exempted from a few national tournaments. Importance-wise as well, I think there should be a balance between both national and international meets. I will propose this ahead of the next AGM.”
ayantan@newindianexpress.com