UTT-Senior Table Tennis Nationals: PSPB likely to dominate in singles, team events

While PSPB, comprising Sharath, Sathiyan, Harmeet, Manav and Sanil Shetty, will be the favourite in the men’s category, a tough challenge is expected in the women’s.

FILE PHOTO: Defending champion Sharath Kamal will be in action at the UTT Senior Nationals. | Photo Credit: REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

Twenty-five years ago, the Gymnasium Hall at Jammu University stood witness to Chetan Baboor (PSPB) winning a hat-trick of men’s singles titles and Kasturi Chakraborty (PSPB) clinching her maiden women’s crown at the senior national Table Tennis Championships.

Cut to 2023, the 84th edition of the tournament, beginning on Monday, will likely have PSPB dominating in singles and team events.

All the top paddlers including defending champions, Sharath Kamal (men) and Sreeja Akula (women), G. Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar, two-time champions, Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee, comeback queen Mouma Das, Reeth Rishya, Diya Chitale, and Archana Kamath will participate.

While PSPB, comprising Sharath, Sathiyan, Harmeet, Manav and Sanil Shetty, will be the favourite in the men’s category, a tough challenge is expected in the women’s. Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the top seed, comprising Sreeja, Diya and Ayhika Muherjee among others, could pose a challenge to PSPB.

The stage is set for the Senior Table Tennis Nationals in Jammu. | Photo Credit: K. Keerthivasan

Recently, Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) took a policy decision on the principle of ‘One State One Unit’ as per the Sports Code. As a result, Maharashtra and West Bengal’s representation in the Nationals were reduced to one team as witnessed at the recent youth and junior Nationals in Chennai and the sub-junior and cadet Nationals in Alappuzha. Curiously, this time TTFI has allowed Rajasthan to field two teams under its banner, TTFI1 and TTFI2, owing to some issues, reportedly in-fighting.

Groupings

Men: Group I: PSPB, TTFI2, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur; II: RSPB, Sikkim, Nagaland, Punjab; III: Delhi, Ladakh, Kerala, TTFI1; IV: Haryana, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh; V: West Bengal, MP, Arunachal Pradesh; Andaman & Nicobar; VI: Telangana, Karnataka; Bihar, J&K; VII: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Daman & Diu; HP; VIII: UP, TN, Chandigarh, Odisha, Assam.

Women: Group I: RBI, J&K, TTFI1, Goa; II: PSPB, Punjab, UP, Kerala; III: West Bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Chandigarh; IV: MP, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh; VI: Delhi, Telangana, TTFI1, Ladakh; VII: Gujarat, Haryana, Haryana, Jharkhand, Manipur; VIII: TN, Karnataka, Daman & Diu, Uttarakhand.