<p>A great opportunity awaits for a group of young and experienced Indian paddlers to sizzle in front of the home crowd and bag a rich medal haul in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships that gets underway here on Sunday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>A formidable challenge for the hosts in this edition of the event would come from Singapore, which has much higher ranked players in their squad. <br />But if the Indian paddlers get favourable draws, it could well turn out to be a remarkable championship for them.<br /><br />Singapore have completely dominated the last two editions of the championship -– 2007 and 2009, finishing first in all the categories except for men’s doubles event. <br /><br />However, the field has lost its sheen to some extent because of the absence of big players like two-time defending champion Gao Ning of Singapore and English suo of Liam Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall, who have opted out due to club commitments. <br />Australia, Canada and Scotland will also be fielding a relatively young side for the championship.<br /><br />Leading the Indian challenge would be the country’s most experienced campaigner Achantha Sharath Kamal, who is also the highest ranked player for the hosts. <br />Sharath and his doubles partner, Subhajit Saha, would be determined to defend their title which they won in Glasgow last time around. <br /><br />While first timers such as reigning national champion Soumyajit Ghosh, Harmeet Desai and G Sathiyan would be hoping to make a mark in front of local fans at the Thyagaraj Stadium.<br /><br />Though the level of competition in this event is no match to the international arena, a high-quality campaign here will certainly boost paddlers’ confidence going into the World Championships which starts from May 13 in the French capital of Paris.<br /><br />The Indian men’s team had been given the second billing behind Singapore while their female counterparts are placed third. The women’s squad will be spearheaded by national title holder K Shamini.<br /></p>
<p>A great opportunity awaits for a group of young and experienced Indian paddlers to sizzle in front of the home crowd and bag a rich medal haul in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships that gets underway here on Sunday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>A formidable challenge for the hosts in this edition of the event would come from Singapore, which has much higher ranked players in their squad. <br />But if the Indian paddlers get favourable draws, it could well turn out to be a remarkable championship for them.<br /><br />Singapore have completely dominated the last two editions of the championship -– 2007 and 2009, finishing first in all the categories except for men’s doubles event. <br /><br />However, the field has lost its sheen to some extent because of the absence of big players like two-time defending champion Gao Ning of Singapore and English suo of Liam Pitchford and Paul Drinkhall, who have opted out due to club commitments. <br />Australia, Canada and Scotland will also be fielding a relatively young side for the championship.<br /><br />Leading the Indian challenge would be the country’s most experienced campaigner Achantha Sharath Kamal, who is also the highest ranked player for the hosts. <br />Sharath and his doubles partner, Subhajit Saha, would be determined to defend their title which they won in Glasgow last time around. <br /><br />While first timers such as reigning national champion Soumyajit Ghosh, Harmeet Desai and G Sathiyan would be hoping to make a mark in front of local fans at the Thyagaraj Stadium.<br /><br />Though the level of competition in this event is no match to the international arena, a high-quality campaign here will certainly boost paddlers’ confidence going into the World Championships which starts from May 13 in the French capital of Paris.<br /><br />The Indian men’s team had been given the second billing behind Singapore while their female counterparts are placed third. The women’s squad will be spearheaded by national title holder K Shamini.<br /></p>