NEW DELHI: Finally, there is something positive to talk about regarding Indian table tennis. The men's team comprising A Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar and Sanil Shetty created history by assuring themselves of a medal at the Asian Championships at the Lusain Sports Arena in Doha late on Wednesday.
In their quarterfinal match, India got the better of Iran 3-1. India's top ranked paddler Sharath began proceedings and downed Nima Alamiyan 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5. Then it was the turn of Sathiyan, who did not disappoint as he dispatched World No 74 Noshad Alamiyan 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6.
It was Harmeet's turn to close out the match but in a see-saw battle, the Indian succumbed to Amir Hossein Hodaei 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12, 7-11. Again, the responsibility of sealing the deal came onto the shoulders of Sharath who duly obliged, getting past Noshad 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9.
What made the win even more special was the fact that Sharath was carrying an injury on his heel which flared up post his opening rubber. He got tapped up with a bandage and took a painkiller and came on to seal the famous triumph.
"I felt pain during the national camp and tried to rest as much as possible and got it bandaged. But after the first win, the pain recurred making it difficult to walk. Got it bandaged and took some medicine and my teammates egged me on and I'm glad I could get the win for my country. This medal has eluded us for many years and I'm glad that we could finally break the jinx," World No 33 told this daily.
Next up, India will face favourites South Korea for a place in the final. Again the luck of the draw did not help India as on the opposite side of the draw lie Japan who have effectively sent their B-team, which could have made things easier. "The draw did not help but if we are to do something even more special, it would be the best thing for us to face the favourites. If we can be on top of our game, there is always a chance. Regarding my own condition, will take a call as late as possible," he added.
Post Olympics, most of the talk surrounding the sport has been negative. From court decisions to uproar regarding camp attendance, Sharath feels the win was needed to inject some much needed positivity into a sport which has been on the rise performance-wise since 2018.
"The background noise was quite a lot this time around. Even players from other countries were talking about what was going on back at home. So we needed to perform well and now hopefully, we can all look to improving ourselves and focus on our game."
India also have a good chance at progressing deep into the tournament and possibly adding to their medals tally in men's singles and men's doubles where Sharath and Sathiyan will combine to play.
India had made it to the Champions Division after their stellar showing in the last edition, which resulted in India being handed a direct entry into the eight-team main draw of the ITTF-ATTU joint event. The top 10 teams also qualified for the 2022 World Team Championships with the top six seeds guaranteed a place. China had opted out of the current edition due to their focus on their own National Games.