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Young, ‘renovated’ Indian teams out to defend Asian TT medals
India's young table tennis teams, featuring new talent, aim to impress at the Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, crucial for the upcoming Asian Games.
Mumbai: A year ago from the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Kazakhstan, the Indian contingent walked away with three medals. Two of them came from team events, including a stunning silverware by the women beating Paris Olympics medallists South Korea.
As the continental showpiece comes to India one year ahead of the 2026 Asian Games in the form of only team events starting on Saturday in Bhubaneswar, both the hosts’ defending bronze medallists wear a “renovated” look, as India’s head coach Massimo Costantini termed it.
There’s no Sharath Kamal (retired), G Sathiyan (personal reasons) and Harmeet Desai from the 2024 men’s batch. This bunch features Ankur Bhattacharjee, 18, Payas Jain, 21, and Snehit Suravajjula, 25. The women’s team has two new entrants in Yashaswini Ghorpade, 20, and Swastika Ghosh, 22. The constants from 2024 are Manika Batra, Diya Chitale and Sutirtha Mukherjee, who came in as a late replacement for Sreeja Akula out with an injured shoulder.
With the average age of around 22 for men and 24 for women, India will have one of the youngest teams taking on Asian powerhouses featuring the world’s top players. Thus, despite the luxury of directly playing the quarter-finals as reigning medallists (the men will play Hong Kong on Sunday while the women await their opponents from the group stage), Costantini doesn’t know what to expect.
“With these shuffled cards, it will be a little bit more unpredictable,” India’s long-time foreign coach said over phone from Bhubaneswar. “But of course, we are ready, especially to play our best at home.”
The tournament returns to India after 16 years carrying a bit more significance, with the Asian Games in Japan less than a year away. For half of the combined 10-member Indian squads, this will be a new taste of a continental test of this level.
“This is an investment for the Asian Games,” said Costantini. “We have a young team, but one that is keen to impress. You have to do something special. And this is their opportunity to do something special. If we do well here, we will gain more respect when we compete at the Asian Games.”
The younger look to both the teams reflects a somewhat transitional phase in Indian TT currently.
With Sharath retired, Manav Thakar is the top-ranked Indian at world No.39. Below him are Sathiyan and Harmeet, who are increasingly challenged by the younger faces for spots in teams for such tournaments. The teenaged Ankur, for instance, jumped 31 places to 118th in the WTT rankings after making the main draw of the prestigious WTT China Grand Smash as a qualifier earlier this month.
Among the women, Sreeja and Manika are in the top 50 but there remains a gap after that, which younger players are pushing to bridge.
“In a way, it is a transition, but not a complete transition,” said Costantini. “I think the players who were the backbone of the Indian team for many years, they will fight more. Because everyone wants to be at the Asian Games.”
For now, it’s the Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, where leaving a mark will go a long way for the younger faces wearing the India jersey.
“I can count on the men. Because they have to get mature, and step on to the next stage of their careers. Players like Manush, Payas, Snehit,” said Costantini.
“Yashaswini too is around the same age. She needs some good wins against quality players. That is the key. We have a good group of young players. But they have to perform well internationally. Otherwise, they are good players, and they will remain good players. We need something special.”
