TABLE TENNIS
Indian team to hve preparatory camp ahead of World inidvidual table tennis c’ships
The Indian team will have a preparatory camp at the SAI Centre, Bengaluru, from May 7 to 17 for the World individual table tennis championships, to be held in Durban (South Africa) from May 20 to 28. All the top players, including G. Sathiyan, Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra, and others, who have been selected for the Worlds, are expected to take part in the camp.
India’s top singles paddler Sathiyan has been training with Manika Batra in Hyderabad at the Academy run by Aman Balgu for the last four days with Sathiyan’s coach S. Raman to perform well in the mixed doubles at the Worlds. “We are seeded fourth in mixed doubles, and the lone Indians seeded in the five categories of men’s & women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. We are looking for a medal—both the semifinalists will win a bronze each--though I know it is very difficult,” Sathiyan told The Hindu from Hyderabad.
-Team Sportstar
Ultimate Table Tennis franchises choose their coaches at the Season 4 Coach Draft
UTT co-promoters Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani (C) pose with the team owners at the Season 4 coach draft in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) held its Coach Draft in Mumbai on Friday as the six franchises picked their coaches for the upcoming edition of the league, scheduled from July 13 to 30.
The UTT Season 4 Coach Draft was attended by UTT co-promoters Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani along with team owners who chose a combination of one Indian and one foreign coach from the pool.
The league’s newest team, Bengaluru Smashers made the first pick in round one to bring Sachin Shetty on board before adding Slovenia’s Vesna Ojstersek as their foreign coach in the round two.
“I think Vesna and Sachin were a combination for Delhi which ended up as runners-up in 2019. We had that at the back of our mind. Our team had done the homework and these were our first choices. It’s always good to be a part of a league, especially a non-cricketing league. We are happy to be a part of UTT,” commented Punit Balan, owner of Bengaluru Smashers.
Second to pick a coach, Dabang Delhi TTC zeroed in on an experienced A Muralidhara Rao first and then bagged four-time Olympian Slobodan Grujic of Serbia as their foreign coach in the second round. Dabang Delhi TTC owner Radha Kapoor Khanna felt the process was very interesting and was looking to work with their picks.
“We came in with a few equations in mind between the international and Indian coaches. We had a few options. We are hoping that a combination of Muralidhara Rao and Slobodan brings in the winning spirit,” she said.
U Mumba TT and Puneri Paltan Table Tennis found their desired combination in Portugal’s Francisco Santos and Anshul Garg, and N Ravichandran and Zoltan Batorfi of Hungary respectively.
“Francisco and Anshul were our top picks. We have been in touch with Francisco from Portugal, he is already happy being a part of the U Mumba TT franchise and really wanted to work with Anshul. It was really important to get a young combination on the circuit,” said U Mumba TT CEO Suhail Chandhok.
Puneri Paltan Table Tennis CEO Kailash Kandpal commented on the team’s choice: “I am happy with the combination we picked. Zoltan and Ravichandran worked together in their last assignment in Kolkata. They work pretty well as a unit. There were other combinations we had in mind, but this was our priority,”
Goa Challengers picked a combination of five-time Olympian Elena Timina and Parag Agrawal. Vivek Bhargava, the Goa Challengers’ owner, felt the season started well for them with their picks at the coach’s draft. He further added: “The draft was wonderful for us. We got our two top coaches.”
Defending champions Chennai Lions picked India’s Somnath Ghosh before ending the draft with the addition of German Jorg Bitzigeio, who guided the German women’s team to bronze medal at the 2010 World Team Championships, as their foreign coach in the second round.
“We are elated to be a part of UTT. We intend to give our best. The combination of Somnath Ghosh and Jorg Bitzigeio will help us choose the best players available in the draft,” Chennai Lions owners Harini Yadav and Karishma Yadav said in a joint statement.
Having their coaches in line, the teams can begin their preparations for the UTT Season 4 Player Draft to be held early next month. The franchise-based league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India.
The upcoming season of the league will be played at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune.
-Team Sportstar
CRICKET
Somjeet Singh to captain India’s wheelchair cricket team against Bangladesh counterparts
Lucknow’s Somjeet Singh will lead a 15-member Indian wheelchair cricket team that will take part in a three-match T20 series against Bangladesh in Kolkata from May 7-9.
The Indian squad was selected based on performance in the national tournament held earlier this year as well as the camp organised by Wheelchair Cricket Association of India under the aegis of Differently Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI). The DCCI is now recognised by the BCCI.
“This series will give a lot of boost to wheelchair cricket in our country. Despite KKR’s IPL match in Kolkata, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has extended its co-operation for the tournament,” DCCI secretary Ravi Chauhan, who represents the association in BCCI, said.
The Team: Somjeet Singh (captain), Sandip Kundu, Sagar Gowda, Kabir Singh Veer Sandhu (wk), Sahil Dyed, R Santhosh, Shailesh Yadav, Umesh Kaushik, Jayan Alt, Ajay Yadav, Sukhwant Singh, Raja Babu, Prashant Singh, Sunil Rao.
-PTI