A top-16 finish will be great, feels Sathiyan

Sharath says the men’s team has the capability and firepower to take on the best in the world

CHENNAI

India’s star paddler A. Sharath Kamal said he was not match-fit for the World team table tennis championships to be held in Chengdu (China) from September 30 to Oct. 9, especially after a hectic Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where he won four medals including three gold and one silver for India. “The CWG preparations were arduous for my body, mind and family, too. I would like to balance out things at this stage of my life. Post the excellent results at the CWG, I doubt if I could be in my best shape, physically and mentally, in preparation for the World championships and with those doubts I can’t lead a team into a major tournament where a lot of responsibility will be on our shoulders,” said the 40-year-old, who will not be playing in the Worlds for the first time since competing in the 2003 event in Paris, in a message to The Hindu on Thursday. “I thought it would be the best to skip the preparation and the tournament this time.” But Sharath said the men’s team has the capability and firepower to take on the best in the world.  “My teammates are very well experienced and know how to prepare and excel in major championships. Sathiyan has the right confidence post the CWG and Harmeet (Desai) has shown what he is capable of enroute to winning the gold in the men’s team event,” he said.  Speaking to The Hindu, Sathiyan said it will be difficult to repeat of the 2018 (Halmstad, Sweden) performance when the men’s team finished 13th.

“Without Sharath, it will not be easy. Our primary objective will be to make it to the knock-outs (Stage II) from the Groups. A top 16-finish will be a great performance,” he said.