'Chinese' presence add to competition in CWG: Poulomi-PTI, Sep 28, 2010,

'Chinese' presence add to competition in CWG: Poulomi

PTI, Sep 28, 2010, 05.49pm IST

Tags:table tennis federation of india|poulomi ghatak|cwg 2010 table tennis|commonwealth games|chinese players|achantha sharath
NEW DELHI: China may not be a part of Commonwealth nations but the presence of paddlers of Chinese-origin means there will be stiff competition, feels reigning woman national champion Poulomi Ghatak.

China is not among the 71 nations and territories who participate in the Commonwealth Games but countries such as Singapore have become forces to reckon with in the ping pong game by offering nationality to many Chinese players.

And in the coming Delhi Games also, when the women's team would try to improve upon their bronze medal winning performance from the 2006 Melbourne edition, these China-born paddlers will surely pose a big threat to their medal hopes.

"China does not play Commonwealth Games, but except India and England almost all the other countries have at least two Chinese players in their squads. So you can say the level of competition in Commonwealth Games has surely gone up over the years," Poulomi said.

The experienced Indian also knows that her journey in the multi-discipline event is not going to be a mere cake-walk with a number of strong contenders present in the field.

"Singapore is number one in table tennis and Malaysia is also a good team. Besides these two, we have to overcome stiff challenge from Australia, England and Canada. Then there are New Zealand and Nigeria as well," she added.

Poulomi, who will spearhead the Indian charge in women's section of table tennis during the October 3-14 Games, said after two years of preparations, now its time to reap the fruits of her hard work in front of the home crowd.

"My preparation was good. We started preparations for the Delhi Games two years ago and now the time has come. We are well prepared to take any challenge and everyone in the squad is in good shape," Poulomi said.

"We are not thinking about the medals right now but just aiming to give our best in the Games, which will see some tough competition in the table tennis section. But if we can play well, the medals will come automatically. We need not think about it separately," she said.

She is also ready to handle the pressure of expectation. "There will be pressure of expectation on us. We are playing at home, so friends, relatives and in general common people would expect a good performance.

"But, I would say, it is always encouraging when so many people support you and want you to succeed. That's a good thing," she said.

As part of their preparation for the Games, Indian team has toured China as many as five times in last 12 months and the experienced paddler admitted those exposure trips will help them when table tennis competitions start on October 4 at Yamuna Sports Complex.

"Yes, the tours were really good because we learnt a lot of things there. We played with a number of quality players in some of the Pro-Tour events like Qatar Open. We saw how other countries set playing strategies and that surely benefit us as well," she said.

Poulomi also has no doubt that Table Tennis Federation of India's (TTFI) decision to engage Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal's younger brother Rajath, himself a former paddler, as sports analyst will give dividends.

"We can analyse our performance after every match and during the practise sessions. He (Rajath) is doing a good job and it is certainly helpful in the long run," she said.

In the ping pong game, hosts will be represented by a 10-strong contingent -- five men and as many women -- in the mega-event, which is being held in India for the first time.