CHENNAI: For India’s paddlers the coming journey will be quite challenging due to a multitude of factors. Both G Sathiyan and A Sharath Kamal were almost on their way to Tokyo. While one would have got through the Asian qualifiers, the other would have secured his place through the world rankings. But now the process has to start all over again and the ITTF will have to formulate a plan and that might be easier said than done.
“The postponement is good because of the pandemic and its rapid spread. But for athletes, it will be a challenge, especially for those who were almost there. The ITTF has to decide whether to start the entire qualification process all over again or to just conduct the remaining qualifiers. Whether to freeze points or not is another major issue. Table tennis is a complicated points based sport and tweaks need to be made in that regard as well,” Sathiyan said.
If the qualification process starts all over again, it will be good news from an Indian point of view as the team qualification chances again reappear. But maintaining one’s ranking will be a test for all players.
"Teams or players who have qualified will again feel hard done by if the process starts all over again. That also needs to be avoided. If the current system has to run its course, how the ITTF takes the points into consideration will be a major factor due to so many tournaments not happening or saw reduced participation due the virus. These all are all conjecture at this point and the only thing we can do is keep calm and trust the federation to take the right call."
Sharath is fighting his own battle. The 37-year-old is not getting any younger and the postponement means that he now has to start his Olympic routine all over again. “My preparations nowadays are a bit different than others and I was in the groove this time around and so close to qualifying. The IOC’s decision is obviously the correct one but I now have to mentally and physically prepare myself.”