Initiatives like Table Tennis Super League needed to grow the sport: Anthony Amalraj
Former India table tennis player Anthony Amalraj, speaking at the launch of the fourth edition of Table Tennis Super League (TTSL) in Chennai on Wednesday, highlighted the need for professional leagues to grow the sport in India.
'In Europe, we've always had a league system. But in India, we mostly had a tournament system, and there's a huge difference between the two. In a tournament, if you lose once, you're out—it's over. But in a league, players get chances to bounce back, to take advice, and to improve. Financial stress is also lower in leagues because of sponsor support,' Amalraj said.
The TTSL is Ultimate Table Tennis' (UTT) grassroots development tournament. The Tamil Nadu leg will feature six teams—Jappier Jaguars, Leo Legends, DRA Dragons, SSVM Smashers, Vibe Victors, and E Daddy Warriors.
Amalraj added that Indian players' performances have improved since the advent of the UTT.
'Leagues are more professional. Since UTT started in 2017, India's performance has seen a shift—our women's team reached the Olympic quarterfinals, and now Indian players have the confidence to take on top nations like China and Japan,' he said.
A silver-medallist from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Amalraj said that establishing such leagues will boost the player pools across states.
'Only Sathiyan from Tamil Nadu made it to the World Championships this time. But see, we're not like China, where lakhs of people play table tennis. It's not like asking, 'when will we get the next Virat Kohli in cricket?' Because lakhs play cricket, you have a bigger pool. In table tennis, the player base is smaller. It takes time. After I came, Sathiyan came 3–4 years later. So it's a gradual process,' he added.
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