Kamal, Roy make Indian TT history

The women’s team did not lag, winning the bronze in team events and one each for Mouma Das and Poulami Ghatak in the individual event.

The closest that an Indian squad came to bagging a men’s singles gold in the Commonwealth was in New Delhi in 2001 when Chetan Baboor brought the home team close before losing to defending champion Mathew Syed of England in the final.

It’s the pinnacle of success for the two rising stars. While Tamil Nadu’s Kamal is the reigning national champion, Soumyadeep, a former champion, had his skills honed at the Table Tennis Federation of India’s academy in Ajmer, training under Chinese coach Yen Wei.

The news was greeted by former national players. ‘‘It’s incredible. This win will surely reflect positively in the performance of the other younger crop of players in the country,’’ said three-time national champion Manjit Dua.

Dua, who was a semifinalist in the 1981 meet in Bombay (where he lost to the eventual champion, Nigeria’s Musa), believed the achievement would give the game a boost. ‘‘England players have for long been dominating the tournament. This win should really mark a turning point in Indian table tennis,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s a very creditable performance’’, said Indu Puri. ‘‘After the World and Asian Games, C’wealth championships are supposed to be the toughest, competition wise. Whatever the opposition, winning a gold means a lot. I am sure it will help the other players to emulate this bunch,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s a tremendous boost and should act as a revival of the game in the country after it had strayed out of the public eyes over the last 4-5 years,’’ said former Asia junior champion Vasant Bhardwaj from Bangalore.

‘‘This win should probably be the turning point in Indian table tennis. Both Kamal and Soumyadeep are young and should carry on the good work. Winning Commonwealth Championships is no easy thing. It’s next to the world championships,’’ he added.

‘‘The great thing about this victory is that the present lot of players are young and have a long years of play. This win should make them believe in themselves,’’ was how the eight-time national champion Kamlesh Mehta saw the historic win.

Results: Men’s team (final): India bt England 3-1 (Sharath Kamal lost to Alan Cooke 6-11, 8-11, 9-11; Soumyadeep bt Bradley Billington 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8; Subhajit Saha bt Andrew Rushton 11-8, 11-7, 11-6; Soumyadeep bt Cooke 11-4, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6).

Men’s singles (final): Achanta Sharath Kamal bt Soumyadeep Roy 11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8.