Commonwealth Table Tennis | Indian men should win team and open events, says Sharath Kamal

While it hasn’t yet been confirmed whether Kamal would be participating in the singles event as well, the veteran has expressed his confidence in the Indian contingent stating that they can be undisputed gold medalists in the tournament in Cuttack.

“Since England, Nigeria and Singapore are not fielding their best players, Indian men should win the team and open events,” said Kamal, reported Sportstar.

The 37-year-old paddler, who has won 10 medals in his career so far, including the 2004 singles and team championship gold medals, also pinpointed to the fact that many top paddlers won’t be coming making it quite an easy run for India courtesy of G. Sathiyan’s current form.

“The way G. Sathiyan (ranked 24th in the world) has been playing, we should not face much difficulty in the team events. He is in the form of his life. That apart, two seasoned campaigners from England (Liam Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall) and Nigeria (Aruna Quadri and Segun Toriola) are not coming. Singapore, too, is fielding a young side. Other teams are not so strong,” he added.

Though Kamal’s event hasn’t been finalized, the player has expressed his desire to play in the team and doubles event. “It has been quite a tiring month for all of us. If I can be allowed to skip singles, I feel I’ll be able to perform better in team event and doubles,” he said.