Soumyajit, Sathyan settle for silver at Asarel Bulgaria Open table tennis, create history
CHENNAI: Soumyajit Ghosh and G Sathiyan created history by becoming the first Indian pair to reach the final of an ITTF World Tour event. The duo came close to toppling the top-seeded Japanese duo of Jin Uda and Maharu Yoshimura in the men’s doubles final at the Asarel Bulgaria Open on Sunday. The experienced pair overcame a tough fight from the Indians to win 11-13, 11-7, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5, and took home their second title.
Coach Massimo Costantini has his sights set firmly on next year’s Commonwealth Games and is trying to figure out the best doubles team. For that, he is mixing up each of India’s top paddlers and making them play together in events. For the record, Sathiyan and Soumyajit are playing together after a gap of one-and-a-half years. The last time they played together was in the Slovenia Open last year.
“Indian table tennis is definitely on the rise. We have been playing consistently over the last two years. All of our rankings have steadily improved. This bodes well for the future,” World No 86 Soumyajit told Express. Incidentally, India’s team ranking has also risen from 22 last year to 15.
The variety in combination play was on full display during the event as unfamiliar pairings of Harmeet Desai and Arjun Ghosh reached the pre-quarterfinals while A Amalraj and Sanil Shetty lost in the semifinals.
Group camaraderie has also helped the team. As Sathiyan puts it, everyone keeps pushing the other to play better. “We ask each other about things ranging from opponents to tactics. It’s a very friendly group. We have known each other for the last 10 years and it helps when we go abroad together as well,” the World No 90 said.
What has been heartening to see since Massimo took over is that all the paddlers have started taking responsibility. Earlier, it used to be a one-man show with A Sharath Kamal clearly head and shoulders above the rest. “He has been the pioneer, a torchbearer of sorts. We all used to want to be like him. Now we are taking responsibility. We all need to contribute so that India becomes a force to be reckoned with,” Soumyajit added.
Professionalism is another aspect that has been helping. Both paddlers agreed in unison that since Costantini took over, everything has changed: from playing in more Pro Tour events to participating abroad. Even the support staff has been travelling with the team. This event saw Massimo and R Rajesh go along with the group.
Visa issues
The Indian contingent was set to travel to Olomouc to play in the Czech Open from August 22. However, due to visa issues, only Soumyajit and Sanil will be playing as the rest of the team did not receive their documents on time.
ayantan@newindianexpress.com