Sharat Kamal to lead Indian challenge in CWG TT test event

Indian paddlers will aim to give themselves a big boost ahead of the Commonwealth Games with a rich haul of medals at the Pro Tour India Open Table Tennis Championship which commences here tomorrow.

The five-day tournament, which will have a prize money of 100,000 dollars, is a test event for the Commonwealth Games. It will be staged at the newly-built state-of-the-art Yamuna Sports Complex and will see participation of 102 players from 13 countries.

Olympian and reigning Commonwealth Games champion Achanta Sharath Kamal, who is currently at the 91st spot in the world rankings, and woman national champion Poulomi Ghatak will spearhead the 46-member Indian contingent.

In the men's section, apart from Kamal, former national champion Subhajit Saha, Sourav Chakraborty and Soumyadeep Roy will also hope to finish on the podium.

Among the women, Ghatak and her doubles partner Mouma Das are coming into the championship after a good show at the recent World Championships in Moscow and are strong contenders for a medal.

The Indian paddlers have already undergone a week-long training camp at the venue under the guidence of national coach Massimo Constantini of Italy and chief SAI coach Bhawani Mukherjee. ''The camp was very fruitful and all the players are also in good condition. We are expecting some good performance in the tournament,'' Mukherjee told reporters.