Paddlers set for Chinese sojourn at Asian Championships
NEW DELHI: Ahead of the 2019 ITTF-ATTU Asian Table Tennis Championships which starts from September 15, India’s top paddlers will head to Chengdu, China for a preparatory camp. The camp will begin from September 4 and go on till September 13.
The camp will be held at the same venue where the players trained prior to the Asian Games last year. Prior to 2018, camps organised in China used to be held in Zengdi province. Players were highly impressed with the facilities on offer at Chengdu and asked the Table Tennis Federation of India and Sports Authority of India to hold it there instead.
“The complex is top-notch. Sparring partners there are also of a higher quality. Even though they are not part of the main Chinese team, the players are highly competitive and playing against players of different techniques and skill-sets will definitely help us,” India’s highest-ranked paddler G Sathiyan said.
Chengdu is well connected with multiple flight options while the earlier venue entailed a long, tiring road trip from Beijing. “Connectivity is a major boon. We have decent accommodation as well. After our Asiad high, it was obvious that we would choose to train here,” World No 41 A Sharath Kamal added.
The same players who were part of the Commonwealth Championships team will be in attendance. All the players are in the country following a hectic schedule over the last couple of months which included multiple World Tour events followed by Commonwealth Championships, Ultimate Table Tennis and the South Zone nationals.
While the paddlers were initially expected to leave on September 3, the plan had to be postponed by a day following the late arrival of Sathiyan who was busy playing in the Czech Open. Sharath will join the group on the 6th as he has personal commitments to fulfill.
The team will be accompanied by coaches Brett Clarke and the junior national coach and Dhyanchand Award winner Arup Basak. Clarke will initially head to Mongolia for the Asian Junior & Cadet Championships which is set to start from September 2 and he will head to the camp from there. In the absence of a senior coach, Clarke will be given increased responsibilities in the coming days. A physio and masseuse will accompany the team for both the camp as well as the biennial competition.
“We need all the help we can get. We have a shot at a medal but we need to focus and not get too ahead of ourselves,” Sathiyan said.