Tamil Nadu players confident of good show at South Asian Games

Tamil Nadu’s paddler trio of G Sathiyan, A Amalraj and K Shamini oozed confidence ahead of their SAG sojourn. The table tennis events commence on Saturday and will conclude on the fifth day. Devesh Karia, Sudhanshu Grover and Sanil Shetty complete the men’s team while Manika Batra, Mouma Das, Pooja Sahasrabudhe and Madhurika Patkar are the women participating. 

Sathiyan, who is in the Indian senior squad for the first time, said he was looking forward to an enriching experience. “All of us are in good shape to give our best. We are confident of a good show  as we jet off to the World Championships soon after this championships. Getting a trophy in SAG would be a major boost for us to do well in the bigger stage,” the Chennai player said. Fresh from winning the senior national championship, Amalraj said a strong Indian contingent will be a threat to their rivals. “We have national champions and many of our players are rich with international exposure. This gives us the edge to do well and prove that we are not easy to defeat,” Amalraj added. For Shamini, a weeklong camp in Patiala has set her in a good stride. “We are the defending champions. It is a championship of repute and with enough practice, I am sure we would be able to upset the plans of our opponents. We are a closely-knit team as we all know each other for a long time and that would help us finish off with a gold medal,” she said. 

In squash, it could be another India versus Pakistan affair as both the countries are fielding full strength teams. Coach Cyrus Poncha said he was confident of a good show. “Both the men and women squads were picked last month after a camp and trials. There were no major surprises. We are a confident lot,” Poncha said.