Attacking game is key for me: Ghosh

It is not often an event of the stature of ITTF World Tour comes to India. For the home paddlers, it  has given them a wonderful opportunity to play against the best in the world and rack up crucial ranking points. Soumyajit Ghosh, for one, is raring to go and considers a quarterfinal finish to be the realistic target for him.

The competition, with prize money of USD 120,000, is the richest table tennis event hosted in India and would include two top-10 players, world No 5 Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany and World No 9 Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.

Ghosh, who has been training in Germany for over a year, feels playing an attacking game would be the key for him. “It is important to play aggressive whether you follow the Chinese method or the European. I train and play in Europe, and certain aspects of Chinese play are so effective that many incorporate them in their games. I try to take the best of both worlds,” Ghosh told Deccan Herald.

At 24, Ghosh has already participated in two Olympic Games (London and Rio de Janeiro). For long, he has been seen as the flag-bearer of Indian table tennis after Sharath Kamal. Ghosh, however, prefers to focus on the process.

“I am still learning. My form had a dipped a bit after the Olympics but I am fine now. In the nationals last week, I played well, though I lost in the final (to Sharath Kamal) after winning the second game and doing well in the third. I will ensure I won’t commit such errors again,” said Ghosh, who was ranked career-best 61 in June last but has now fallen to 82.

“I have worked on my overall game, especially on my movement around the table. I am seeded 18th in the event, and though I know it is a very tough event, my target is to reach the quarterfinals," said the Siliguri man whose previous appearance in an ITTF World Tour event was the Swedish Open where he lost in first round (R-64) in singles.