CWG Table Tennis: Rankings give a sense of euphoria

The 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast will have seven gold medals on offer.

The driving force: The presence of Sharath Kamal, the most successful Indian player in the Commonwealth Games, and G. Sathiyan (below), the highest-ranked Indian at No. 49, should inspire the team to do well at the Commonwealth Games.

Sharath Kamal is the most successful Indian table tennis player in the Commonwealth Games history, having won the men’s singles gold medal in Melbourne in 2006. The 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast will have seven gold medals on offer: men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles, mixed doubles, men’s team, women’s team.

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Medal prospects: With four of the Indian men’s paddlers — G. Sathiyan (49-50), Sharath (71-53), Harmeet Desai (66-60), A. Amalraj (93) — in the top 100 of the world singles rankings, India is expected to perform well in the men’s team, singles and doubles events. Singapore and England will pose a tough challenge to India.

• 2002 Manchester: 3 bronze (men’s singles, men’s doubles and men’s team).
• 2006 Melbourne: 2 gold (men’s singles & men’s team) and 1 bronze (women’s team).
• 2010 Delhi: 1 gold (men’s doubles), 1 silver (women’s team) and 3 bronze (men’s singles, women’s doubles & men’s team).
• 2014 Glasgow: 1 silver (men’s doubles).