Jr paddlers ready to make a mark

Even as the senior members of the Indian table tennis team are preparing in China for the World Championships in Rotterdam next month,junior Indian paddlers are getting ready to make a mark in the junior circuit events in Europe.

Even as the senior members of the Indian table tennis team are preparing in China for the World Championships in Rotterdam next month,junior Indian paddlers are getting ready to make a mark in the junior circuit events in Europe.

Fresh from their fine showing at the Australian Open,where Harmeet Desai and Soumyajeet Ghosh finished winner and runner-up respectively,two junior teams left in the early hours on Tuesday for Metz (France) and Girona (Spain). The team for France includes Desai and Ghosh besides SC Satyan,Sourav Saha,Mallika Bhandarkar,Manika Batra,Charvi Kawle,Reeth Rishya and Anikta Das,who also competed in Australia. The French event is to be held from April 27-May 1.

The other team comprising Abhishek Yada,S Puja,Uttkarsh Gupta,Karnam Spoorthy and Marina Roy will take part in Spain from May 5-8. They will be accompanied by coaches Sunil Babras and Prince Vipin.

The events are part of TTFIs exposure trips ahead of the Asian event to be held in New Delhi in July. We want to give maximum exposure to the juniors in order to give them better opportunities before we host the Asian Juniors. Since there is restrictions on entry per event we have split the teams, said TTFI secretary-general Dhanraj Choudhary.

Former national champion Sunil Babras expressed hope the juniors will pick up vital experience. This are the kind of opportunities we craved for as juniors. Those days trips abroad were few and far between. But the current lot has everything to gain from such exposure trips, said Babras.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
World Championships