Despite their presence in the Olympics — since table tennis’ introduction in the 1988 Seoul Games, India’s paddlers haven’t accomplished anything substantial — it’s unlikely that the qualified pair of Soumyajit Ghosh and Ankita Das, ranked in the back-watery 200s, will fare any better than their predecessors.
Hence, there isn’t any exaggerated hope. Nevertheless, both Ghosh and Das will strive to exceed their expectations. “We know what to expect, but not limiting ourselves. Qualifying for the Games, ahead of top players like Sharath Kamal, Amal Raj and the likes of Poulomi and Shamini, has given us a real thrill. We will play our best and put in cent percent efforts. We can assure you that. I have not played in any big event which is of CWG, Olympics level but this is my first time and I will give my best,” said Ghosh, a doubles bronze-medallist in the World Junior Championship and a member of the world bronze medal-winning Indian junior team last year.
Ankita, too, is in a similar mindset, the thrill of competing in their biggest ever tournament to date.
“I want to do something at the Olympics for which people will remember me. I have been training hard and working on my fitness. I have shed a few extra pounds, besides meditating,” said Ankita, who beat veteran Mouma Das in the Olympic trials.
London could be a baptism by fire for the young duo, both aged only 19, and qualified through the South Asian quota at the Asian Qualifiers in Hong Kong. “It could be a wonderful learning experience for them,” feels Indian coach Leszek Kucharski.
Ten other Indian paddlers have featured in the Olympics. Among them Chetan Baboor played in three Games — Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney — while Sujoy Ghorpade, Kamlesh Mehta and Niyati Roy Shah competed in Seoul and Barcelona. Sharath Kamal, the Indian top seed, went to both Athens and Beijing Olympics.
Other Olympians in the game include Ambika Radhika (Atlanta), Poulomi Ghatak and S Raman (doubles only) went to Sydney, Mouma Das (Athens) and Neha Aggarwal (Beijing).
Of the lot, Kamlesh Mehta won four matches in a group of seven players in Seoul. Ghorpade too managed a couple of victories in singles besides winning a doubles match when the two combined in Seoul. Among the rest, only Sharath Kamal has entered the round of 64 (in Athens as well as Beijing). Mouma Das, too, qualified for the main draw at Athens but bowed out in the round of 128. The unassuming twosome from Siliguri will be more than happy to match their feats.