India hosts its first-ever WTT (World Table Tennis) series event in Goa, with the main draw of the WTT Star Contender Goa beginning from March 1 until March 5. With India's top table tennis stars like Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manika Batra et al mixing it with the cream of world table tennis (Fan Zhendong, Tomokazu Harimoto, Wang Yidi etc.), it promises to be quite the fillip for the domestic table tennis scene in India.
Here is everything you need to know about the tournament:
Is it a big deal?
Fairly big. The World Table Tennis series replaced the ITTF World Tour in 2020 and in a bid to make things more appealing (there are flashier camera angles and lighting - unlike the Olympics), structured their tournaments into three tiers - WTT Grand Smashes, WTT Star Contenders and WTT Contenders. While this tournament isn't one of the four Grand Smashes held every year, there are only six Star Contenders held annually - the top 30 in the world are eligible to play with four of those compulsorily from the top 20.
No surprise then, that with the very best table tennis players in the world descending on Goa, Indian TT fans from around the country have made plans to see the legends in person (that it's being held in Goa is a bonus as well). India's top stars have the chance to play in front of their home crowd as well - which is perhaps the best motivation.
So, who are the big guns?
Ma Long, table tennis GOAT and whose list of accomplishments is so long it requires a summary, was originally scheduled to take part, but withdrew a day before the event began citing health issues, with men's world no.3 Wang Chuqin also dropping out. Women's world no.1 Sun Yingsha and reigning women's Olympic champion Chen Meng also withdrew due to foot injuries, with world no.3 Wang Manyu dropping out as well.
�� BREAKING ��
Ma Long, Wang Chuqin, Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and He Zhuojia have withdrawn from WTT Star Contender Goa due to covid and injuries.
Ma Long, Wang Chuqin, Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng will be replaced (cont'd)#WTTGoa pic.twitter.com/zuvKclysRR
- World Table Tennis (@WTTGlobal) February 26, 2023
It's arguably taken the gloss off the event, but with men's world no.1 Fan Zhendong of China still in action alongside 19-year-old record-breaking Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto (world no.4), there's plenty for Indian table tennis fans to witness. World no. 4 Wang Yidi of China is the top-seeded women's player, followed by world no. 6 Hina Hayata of Japan.
Will we have an Indian winner?
In singles, no. Despite a Chinese contingent that's not its best, there's too much firepower in the singles divisions for Indians to progress deep into the tournament. In doubles however, India has a much better shot.
Have the draws been kind?
Er... not really.
Achanta Sharath Kamal, who's better than his #49 world ranking, faces a tricky Round-of-64 opening game against Finland's Kirill Gerassimenko (WR #33). If he gets past him, he's up against the fourth-highest-ranked Chinese player in this draw, Lin Shidong (WR #23). Pass that hurdle and his reward in all likelihood will be a matchup against Zhendong in the Round of 16. Maybe this time taking a game off the world's best player will also result in headlines.
In a cruel twist of fate, Harmeet Desai's reward for two gruelling days of qualifiers is a Round-of-64 tie against compatriot and highest-ranked Indian, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (WR #41) - with the winner facing 12th seed Yukiya Uda of Japan (WR #22). Fifth seed Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei (WR #8) ought to await this group in the Round-of-16 which ought to be the end of the Indian challenge - and if it is not, Zhendong ought to be present in the quarterfinal.
Sanil Shetty failed to make it past the qualifiers, while Payas Jain and Wesley do Rosario received wildcards, but the Indians are unlikely to get past their Ro64 opponents - Ricardo Walther of Germany (WR #64) and Emmanuel Lebesson of France (WR #54) respectively.
In the women's singles, Archana Kamath, Reeth Tennison, Diya Chitale and Ayhika Mukherjee all failed to get past the qualifiers, but Sutirtha Mukherjee and 18-year-old Yashaswini Ghorpade made it to the main draw, beating higher ranked players. Sutirtha (WR #147) faces compatriot and wildcard entry Suhana Saini (WR #253) in the Ro64, but eight-seed Jia Nan Yuan of France (WR #18) awaits them in the next round. Ghorpade's first-ever Star Contender main draw match-up will be against Miyu Nagasaki of Japan (WR #38) and were she to pull off an improbable win, she would face top seed Wang Yidi in the Ro32.
Barring her opener against England's Tin Tin Ho, Manika Batra (WR #34) will probably face higher-ranked opponents later, with seventh seed Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico (WR #14) awaiting in the Ro32. Third seed Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan and Wang Yidi are in the same half of the draw as Batra, so an appearance in the final is quite unlikely. Sreeja Akula (WR #82) faces Hana Goda of Egypt (WR #39) in her Ro64 tie, with sixth-seed Xiaoxin Yang of Monaco (WR #11) likely to be a bridge too far in the next round.
India will have a guaranteed quarterfinalist in the men's doubles, with the Harmeet Desai - Manav Vikash Thakkar pairing likely to get past the duo of Ronit Bhanja and Jeet Chandra in the Ro16. However, with third-seeds Jang Woojin and Lim Jonghoon of Korea their likely opponents in the quarterfinal, that ought to be a tough ask to get past. The Snehit Suravajjula and Manush Shah pairing are expected to lose their Ro16 tie. However, India's best bet in men's doubles is the Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran duo, but they face the tall task of getting past fourth seeds, An Jaehyun and Cho Seungmin of Korea in the Ro16, with Korea's next-best pairing awaiting them later.
In the women's doubles, Manika Batra and Archana Kamath are the second seeds, but might have to get past compatriots Sreeja Akula and Diya Chitale as well as third seeds Choi Hyojoo and Lee Zion to reach the final, where they might be up against top seeds Shin Yubin and Jeon Jihee of Korea, who are only a spot above them in the world rankings.
Similarly, the mixed doubles pairing of Manika and Sathiyan can go far as the fourth seeds, but a potential semifinal match-up against top seeds Emmanuel Lebesson and Jia Nan Yuan of France could trip them up. With the class of second seeds Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata of Japan likely to be waiting in the final, winning might prove out of reach for India's contingent.
Ok, winning is tough, but what does the tournament mean for Indian table tennis?
In short, a high-profile event of this sort becoming a regular feature on the WTT calendar could offer Indian TT stars another shot at the domestic spotlight apart from multi-sport events that are usually infrequent. The prize money ($10000 USD) and ranking points (600) for the winners aren't too shabby either. However, this event is being hosted by STUPA Sport Analytics, the official data partners for WTT and ITTF, along with the Government of Goa, not the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) - who are 'supporting partners'. It raises questions about the sustainability of this event in the long run. A successful debut, however, could offer India's TT stars a much needed home tournament in the WTT calendar, opening doors for sponsorship opportunities and further viability of their careers.
The 2023 WTT Star Contender Goa will be live-streamed on the WTT YouTube channel, Sony LIV and broadcast on Eurosport.