NEW DELHI: The historic mixed doubles bronze medal at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018 propped up Indian table tennis to write a memorable Olympic chapter two years later.
The Asiad feat came on the back of a stupendous show at the Commonwealth Games earlier the same year, where India, led by Manika Batra’s two gold medals, finished with a historic eight podium finishes.
Now, with the best hopes attached to the mixed pair of Manika and veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal, the eyes of four Indian athletes are on the Olympic draw.
Sharath’s fourth Olympic appearance will carry India’s TT flag in Tokyo, where the Indian paddlers will compete in three events: Sharath and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (men’s singles), Manika and Sutirtha Mukherjee (women’s singles) and Sharath and Manika (mixed doubles) The qualifications were confirmed at the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Doha earlier this year.
Sathiyan and Sutirtha topped their respective groups to make the cut, while Sharath and Manika qualified by way of finishing as the highest-ranked second-placed players at the event.
The Sutirtha and Sathiyan pair will be making an Olympic debut, while Manika will make her second appearance at the Games after Rio 2016.
Present at the qualifiers in Doha in March was the Dronacharya awardee Sandeep Gupta, as part of the coaching staff.
It was also the last international competition for the Indian players before the second wave of Covid-19 hit the country.
(Sandeep Gupta receiving the Dronacharya Award from the President of India Ram Nath Kovind – Twitter Photo)Gupta, who is credited with turning Manika into a world beater, is best placed to analyse India’s chances with less than two months left until the Tokyo Games.
Talking to Timesofindia.com, the Delhi-based coach gave a lowdown on India’s chances, which he feels will depend a lot on the draw.
MEN’S SINGLES”On the world standards, both Sharath and Sathiyan are performing at the same level.
So it’s difficult to say who will do better.
It all depends on the draw.
Sharath has beaten the world No.
16 (Patrick Franziska) recently (at the World Table Tennis Star Contender series in Doha), Sathiyan had beaten Japan’s Harimoto (Tomokazu, currently No.
4) in the 2019 Asian Championships.
“So it will depend on the draw and the match-day pressure.
We are not worried about players, for example, from South America.
But Germany, China, Japan and Korea have the best players.
“Both Sharath and Sathiyan are ranked between 30 and 40 (current world rank 32 and 38 respectively).
The next ranking update will be for the Olympics and the draw will be based on that.
That will matter.
Forehand footwork drill on point???Can you count the number of FH topspins in that rally???#sathiyantt… https://t.co/Xy4Tsnh2N2— Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (@sathiyantt) 1622792010000″Our two players are the dark horses and can beat anyone on their day.
“Sharath is an aggressive player, much faster, while Sathiyan is more aggressive with his body language.
Sharath’s attacking game is always better, while Sathiyan has a better counter-attack.
Both have different patterns.
“Everybody has a unique style of playing, which perfectly applies to these two.
So they have to rely on their natural game.
You will perform better if you rely on something that you have been doing for years.
You can’t create anything new all of a sudden,” Gupta told TimesofIndia.com.
When you prepare for a goal, each day is crucial and every minute counts! Worked on bio mechanics and kinetic chai… https://t.co/l3Nior7Qrj— Sharath Kamal OLY (@sharathkamal1) 1623072130000WOMEN’S SINGLES”Sutirtha (world rank 98) is a deceptive player in counter-attack.
It will definitely help her but her progress will depend on how she handles the Olympic pressure.
But that won’t take anything away from her being a good player.
“Manika (world rank 62) has a lot of international experience now, and she also played at the Rio Olympics.
So she would know the Olympic pressure.
If she gets opponents that suit her game, then she can go to any level.
“I can’t say about the reasons for her (Manika’s) drop in rankings, because every player puts in the hard work to do well.
Now she is training at a different place (Pune).
There can be phases when you see a drop in your rankings, but every player has confidence to go higher.
“Manika playing well will also depend on the draw and how she handles and uses the pressure of a particular time (during a match).
Watch Asian Games Gold Medalist and Khel Ratna recipient @manikabatra_TT talk about her journey into #Tokyo2020 and… https://t.co/606suYLviH— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) 1623151363000″As a coach, you make a plan for a player according to your analysis.
But when a player trains at a different place, the coach at that place plans in a way that the player can do better.
So everyone has a different strategy.
I can’t say anything about that.
“Whatever I planned for her (Manika) during her stay with me (until 2019), she touched her peak with that: medals at the Commonwealth Games and then the mixed doubles medal (with Sharath) in the Asian Games.
I was the coach when they beat the team from North Korea (in the 2018 Asian Games quarterfinal).
She penetrated and gave Sharath the 50:50 balance, which helped us win that medal.
It was a positive sign,” Gupta said talking to TimesofIndia.com.
MIXED DOUBLES”Chances are bright, and there will be only 16 pairs participating in the mixed doubles.
If they (Sharath and Manika) play well on their day, then after winning two matches, the chances to win a medal will improve.
“Because of Manika, Sharath got the benefit of playing with (a partner using) the odd rubber (Manika uses a pimpled rubber).
International men players get less chance to play with (a partner using) the odd rubber.
Very rarely the men’s international players are in practice against the odd rubber.
So if Manika’s shot with that rubber leads to a weak reply from the opponent, Sharath can take advantage with an attacking shot.
Really happy to have qualified for Tokyo Olympics in the mixed doubles.
Thank you everyone for all the support and… https://t.co/E2VMkleZFH— Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) 1616236285000″If you get the lead at the start, your self-belief increases.
If you capitalise on that, it benefits you.
Sharath is a great hitter and has struck a good combination with Manika.
“They defeated the world No.
8 Korean pair (Sang-Su Lee and Jihee Jneon in the final of Asian Olympic qualifiers).
“All in all, our players are in good shape.
If we can reach anywhere close to a medal, it will be a big achievement for Indian table tennis that is going in the right direction,” Gupta concluded.