Nagoya, Sep 19 (PTI) A confident Indian table tennis team, led by the men’s doubles pair of Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar, begins its Asian Games campaign here on Sunday with a target of winning at least one medal.
The Indian men’s team faces Indonesia in its first match of Group F against Indonesia and plays against Iran in its second match on Sunday.
The women’s team is also placed in Group F and starts its campaign against Indonesia before taking on Singapore in its second match of the day.
India had won an unexpected bronze in the last edition through the women’s doubles duo of Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee.
The Manush-Manav pair is currently ranked third in the world, and with both of them in top form, they are the best bet for a medal in the continental mega event. The mixed doubles pair of Manush and Diya Chitale is also in good form and can go deep in the competition.
Syndrela Das’ rapid rise has also added a mixed blend of youngsters and experienced players. The 17-year-old, currently at 99th in the ITTF women’s singles’ rankings, has been rewarded for her impressive form on the domestic circuit with a call-up to the senior side in the Asian Games.
The other members of the 10-member team — five male and five female — include the experienced G Sathiyan, Sreeja Akula, Y D Ghorpade, Sutirtha, Payas Jain and Harmeet Desai.
Sathiyan is the most experienced player in the team, and he has a bronze in the 2018 Asian Games men’s team event and several medals in the Commonwealth Games.
The table tennis team arrived here on September 16 and the players had got a bit accustomed to the conditions, particularly the tables and balls being used at the Asian Games.
“This is my third Asian Games, and the preparations have been really good. The whole team has been playing very well in the past one month. Yes, we are going a little early to get used to the weather over there. Our event starts from 20, so hopefully we try to do our best and try to take the medal home,” Manav said.
Manush, meanwhile, said the pair would not be weighed down by expectations and would focus on maintaining the level they have shown over the past year.
“Yeah, I mean expectations are high from me and Manav. We are one of the best in the world right now. We will try to play our best, of course. The main focus will be to take it step by step, match by match.
“And we do want to have a bigger expectation, at least from ourselves, because of course we want to match the level that we have been playing since the past one year,” he said. PTI PDS PDS BS BS
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