ROHIT BHANDIYE
PANAJI
Greater international exposure, improved coaching standards and increased government support have transformed Indian table tennis over the past decade, enabling the country to produce a larger pool of globally competitive players, according to former India paddler Kamlesh Mehta.
An eight-time national champion and former Olympian, Mehta has witnessed the sport's transformation both as a player and a coach. Now secretary general of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), he believes Indian players are better equipped than ever to compete on the international stage.
“During our time, it was more domestic-centric. We got very limited international exposure. As a result, Indian players' rankings never improved much on the international circuit. But now you see that there is a huge international circuit and a very robust ranking system. So, the focus of our new generation of players is more on international rankings," Mehta told The Goan.
He said increased overseas exposure has also opened up new opportunities for Indian paddlers.
"Currently, there must be about 10 to 12 Indian players playing in different foreign leagues at different levels. It is helping them financially also. They are gaining experience as well and improving their game," Mehta said.
The transformation, Mehta said, is evident in India's growing presence in the world rankings.
“Maybe as recently as 2015 or 2016, we had only one player in the top 100. Now we have 10 players in the top 100 in the seniors. In the juniors, there are about 40 to 50 players who are in the top 100. It's a good sign. Unlike in our time, now you can see doubles is also gaining importance because there are medals at stake,” he said.
Mehta attributed the rise to better coaching systems and stronger institutional backing.
“Our players have also evolved. Now they have full-time personal coaches. Ex-players have become coaches. So they are coming with a lot of good knowledge and experience, which is helping the younger generation. Even government support has increased drastically in the last ten years with schemes such as TOPS. There is the Khelo India programme as well,” he said.
Mehta also credited the success of Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra with bringing table tennis into the mainstream and inspiring a new generation of players.
“See, when you have good players who are doing well at the international level, obviously it helps the popularity. Like, for example, after the 2018 Commonwealth Games, wherein Manika Batra won four medals, including two gold, her performance made the entire country know who Manika Batra is and what table tennis is. Then Sharath Kamal has done extremely well at the Commonwealth Games by winning seven gold medals from 2006 to 2022. Their performances have helped the game become more and more popular in India.”
Mehta said the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) league had also played a significant role in raising the standard of Indian players by exposing them to top-ranked international opponents.
“UTT has played a very important role. I am not saying this from my own opinion. It is what the players themselves have commented on in various forums. The players have mentioned that their belief has become stronger by playing in UTT. When they play with the best, with players who are ranked higher in the world rankings, their standard automatically improves.”
Despite the progress, Mehta believes India must continue investing in infrastructure and high-performance systems if it is to compete consistently with the world's best and realise its ambition of winning an Olympic medal.
“Our aim should always be to be among the best and win medals at the Olympics. Firstly, we need to improve our infrastructure because we do struggle to organise even our national ranking tournaments in most places because of the lack of good air-conditioned halls. Secondly, we should get more international events to India because not many Indian players are able to go abroad. Thirdly, we need to have a good set-up of training centres. There should be more use of sports science and more Indian coaches and players,” Mehta said.
