01 August,2017 08:22 AM IST | Mumbai | Noel D'Souza
Former India TT star Kamlesh Mehta was elated by to hear about India amassing 24 medals in the Jordan Junior and Cadet Open in Amman, Jordan on Sunday
Kamlesh Mehta
Kamlesh Mehta
Former India TT star Kamlesh Mehta was elated by to hear about India amassing 24 medals in the Jordan Junior and Cadet Open in Amman, Jordan on Sunday. India bagged seven gold medals, seven silver and 10 bronze to complete a sweep of sorts. "It was an excellent performance by the youngsters who have won in all categories. Winning when you're young is very difficult. What is pleasing to see is that the juniors are going abroad and the federation also is supporting them, these are good signs," he said.
Asked whether India have a good bench strength after the likes of Sharath Kamal, among the top seeds in the Indian TT scene, Mehta added: "You can see Soumyajit Ghosh and Harmeet Desai, we have good players for the next 10 years in both the youth and the men's categories, so that's a good sign.
The transition is happening. Earlier, we used to have one player in the top 100, now we have four and two more are on the borderline. The women's category also looks good. We have one woman player in the top 100."
About Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) champ Sanil Shetty, 28, Mehta reckoned that the Mumbai lad does not have to worry too much about his fitness as he is already fit. However, how Sanil can motivate himself will be the key. "In sport, anything can happen. It is not uncommon to do well when you are above 30. Fitness won't be an issue for him as he is a fit boy, but motivating himself will be good for future events," Mehta, an Arjuna awardee, told mid-day yesterday.
