Presence of Sharath and Sathiyan adds an aura

Surat: The second and last UTT National Ranking Championships for Season 2022, beginning here at the DD Upadhyay Indoor Stadium tomorrow and hosted by the Gujarat State Table Tennis Association, will come alive with the return of A. Sharath Kamal, the multiple Commonwealth Games medal winner in Birmingham, with G. Sathiyan, both of whom skipped the first event at Vadodara last week.

The last time the spectators of Surat saw the two in flesh and blood was during the National Games that Gujarat hosted in November. Their presence would, without a doubt, enhance the stature of the championships, besides adding an aura that everyone would enjoy. And they also bring challenges to the table for all the title-aspiring contestants in the fray, including Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar, who have solid fan bases in Surat. But Manush Shah, who claimed the title last week, will be itching for his consecutive top-of-the-podium finish. The Vadodara left-hander was in red-hot form, and he would want to continue posing questions.

Manika Batra, the top-ranked Indian at No. 35, had committed to making it to the tournament here, but unfortunately, she sprained her ankle during participation in a WTT tournament in Doha last week. One can still hope that she arrives for the women’s singles main draw, scheduled for January 26, if she gets better by then.

The ifs and buts apart, there is so much on offer and at stake for the other participants, mainly the ranking points that can pitch them into the long list of probable players the selectors are hinting at for the forthcoming Asian Games and may even get a berth in the eventual squad. All these portend real tough contests and a serious business for the paddlers, including some among the Youth Boys and Girls Under-19 sections, in the next six days.

The newest women’s champion from the Railways, Moumita Dutta, looked completely rejuvenated after her fine form. She, brushing aside the reputation of former national champion, Archana Kamath, held herself with a fine display in the final. Her maiden crown and the 90 points she collected from the Vadodara event would do a world of good to her confidence when she would visit the table during the women’s singles main draw.

But with the entries at Surat surpassing Vadodara, the competition department has decided to use 24 Stag tables to set the ball rolling for the Under-11, Under-13 and Under-15 events in both sections before considering reducing the tables to 22. The competition manager, N. Ganeshan, feels it would permit him to schedule each day’s events with liberty to give some relief to all concerned. The referee’s team is headed by A.S. Kler, his deputy T.G. Upadhyay, and 55 Blue Badge, International National Umpires. As in the first event, the balls for the championships will be Stiga.

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