India, seeded fifth, is pitted alongside Switzerland and Saudi Arabia in Group E. All groups consist of three teams each and the top two from each group will make it to the Round-of-16. Yash Fadte, Veer Chotrani, Utkarsh Baheti and Rahul Baitha have been selected to represent the country.

 “We are really looking forward to it. It’s (preparation) been good. Once their matches were done, we regrouped and had a practice session every day. As a team, I feel the players are very strong. We do have the potential to go for bronze,” Deepak Mishra sounded optimistic. 

Speaking on the selection process, the 23-year-old stated, “We had a trial ahead of the ISA Open. A camp was then conducted for about 15 days to monitor their performances and to finalise the team.” 

The Indian challenge in the individual events drew curtains in as early as the second day of the competition, with Yash, Veer and Rahul failing to seal a spot in the prequarterfinals. “It’s not that they played badly. The draw wasn’t kind enough to them. It’s not a happy sight to lose in front of your home fans. They gave their all but when you are up against seeded players, it is always difficult,” asserted Deepak whose playing career was cut short courtesy a major injury. 

“Yash and Veer were a part of 2017 World Juniors also. I was there as well (as the coach).Both got knocked out in the first round. But here, they went on to play the third (round). Their performances were much better this time. They are moving in the right direction and I am happy with that,” added the Dhampur-based lad. 

The ISA coach felt Indians will have to regularly participate in overseas events to compete against the best in the world. “They are young and have age on their side. They will have to play more European circuit tournaments to gain some experience. From next year onwards, I am planning to push them to compete in those,” he opined.