Sharath to lead India in macau

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Tamil Nadu’s Achanta Sharath Kamal will spearhead Indian challenge in the men’s competition at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Macau beginning from Thursday. Meanwhile, Poulomi Ghatak will lead the country’s women team during the week-long event.

Sharath will join forces with state-mate and reigning national champion A. Amalraj, Subhajit Saha, Sanil Shetty and Soumyajeet Ghosh while Tamil Nadu’s K. Shamini, Mouma Das, Mousumi Paul and Ankita Das form the rest of the women’s team.

Sharath, who is currently ranked world No. 75, wants to make the most out of the Macau outing and the subsequent world championship in Germany next month.

The India No.1 had reached a career-best ranking of 40 in February 2011 - a standing which would have earned him a direct entry into the Olympics.

However, having missed the direct qualification for the London Games in May last year, Sharath would like to churn out a good show in these two tournaments before he plays at the Olympic qualifiers at Hong Kong in April.

“I missed out on a direct entry by five spots. My priority is to win gold for India at the Asians. I am happy with the way I have been hitting the ball.

I have a good rhythm going after winning the Petroleum tournament a couple of weeks ago,” said Sharath before leaving for Macau.

Polish coach Leszek Kucharski will accompany the Indian squad. National coach Bhawani Mukherji and team manager Arun Banerjee will also travel with the team. “We have the potential to challenge even the toughest of teams. I am confident of a good show,” said the foreign coach.

Former national champion S. Raman noted that the current team, if the current team plays to potential, it can surprise even the likes of China and Japan.

“The Indian team, without doubt, will have their task cut out in the Macau tournament. Nevertheless, we have quality players in Sharath and Amalraj.

The team has a good blend of youth and experience and I am sure the youngsters in the squad will return with a truckload of experience. The quaterfinal draw remains the key if we were to advance into the medal rounds,” said Raman.

All the paddlers will compete both in the team as well as individual championships. The teams were selected on the basis of their performances both at the senior nationals held at Lucknow last month and also from the preceding
season.