Chennai gave India its table tennis Olympians

Sports and Chennai go hand in hand and with time the bond has become stronger. The city's tryst with sports has led to the often repeated phrase, the ‘knowledgeable Chennai crowd.’ Along with top notch cricketers, tennis players, hockey stars, the city has also been the hub of various other sports like table tennis. Famous TT players from the city have brought glory to the country at various national and international levels. Last week, Chennai-based Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Sathiyan and Sharath will take part in the singles, while Sharath will play in the mixed doubles category alongside Manika Batra. This is the first time that an Indian table tennis team for the Olympics features two players from the state. medium81743839Amid the euphoria surrounding his berth in the singles draw of the Olympics, Sathiyan’s mind rolled back to the days he embraced the sport as a toddler. “I come from a family which had no association with sport. I remember taking up TT when I was five at Chandra’s TT academy run by former National champion V Chandrasekhar. Over the years, the strong TT culture in Chennai, the presence of idols in the form of former national players from TN and the state government’s support have helped me reach where I am,” Sathiyan told TOI. medium81744185Table tennis, right from 1950s, has enjoyed a loyal following across age groups in Chennai. While Trichy, Salem and Coimbatore had its share of players in that era, Chennai firmly remained the nerve-centre for the sport. The city had a steady flow of players who made a mark on the domestic front, and some even won medals on the international stage. The likes of V Sivaraman and T Thiruvengadam ruled the national scene in the 1950s and 1960s. They were products of the club culture which was popular in Chennai at the time. Over the next decade, clubs in Mylapore, T Nagar, Santhome and Egmore provided facilities that helped youngsters to sharpen their skills. The club culture was instrumental in creating numerous national champions in both men’s and women’s categories. Dominance of players such as G Jagannath, S Raman, Shamini Kumaresan and M S Mythili, on the court inspired many from Chennai to take up the sport. large81743860The next stage in the evolution of the sport happened through coaching academies. V Ramachandran, who was ranked no. 2 in India in the 1960s, set up the first TT coaching centre at Santhome High School in the mid-1970s. Soon, others joined the bandwagon. From the 1980s to the turn of the of the century, player-turned coaches such as Jagannath, Chandra, and subsequently Raman, churned out players of international repute. large81743878 “We have had players in the past who tasted success nationally and internationally. But this streak of world-class players wasn’t there previously. I believe it has happened due to the presence of full-time coaches imparting scientific training methods and the results are for all to see,” said Raman, multiple-time national champion who is also Sathiyan’s longtime coach. Raman was the first TT player from the state to qualify for the Olympics in 2000. Raman’s wife Bhuvaneshwari too made the cut for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics but couldn’t be part of it because of lack of funds. medium81744190With the state becoming more supportive over the years, the players of today are better placed in terms of financial aid. The Champions Development Scheme started by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) in 2005 had Sathiyan as one of its first beneficiaries. Subsequently, SDAT added two more schemes through which they support more than a dozen TT players from TN. The global spotlight and financial help from the TN government have only amplified the parents’ belief in their children taking up TT as a career option. “Parents are now seeing the benefits that TT provides. They are ready to put their children in open schooling to ensure the focus is on the sport,” said Sharath. A case in point is 14-year-old national subjunior champion Preyesh Suresh Raj who is opting for open schooling in the coming academic year so as to put all his energies on TT.boxcontent medium81743693The rise of TT in Chennai* 1940s: V Sivaraman, famous table tennis player from Tamil Nadu ruled the domestic circuit and was a two-time National champion 1950s, 60s and 70s * 1950s, 1960s, 1970s: Chennai witnessed a steady growth in table tennis thanks to clubs in various parts of the city like Mylapore, T Nagar and Santhome* 1980s and 1990s: V Ramachandran established the first TT coaching centre * 2000s: National champions like G Jagannath and V Chandrasekhar forayed into coaching after their playing days* 2006: Sharath Kamal won India its first TT gold at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. He won two gold medals in all* 2018: Sharath, G Sathiyan played their part as India swept the TT medals at the CWG in Australia * 2018: Sharath, Sathiyan and Antony Amalraj helped India win its maiden TT medal (bronze in men’s team event) at the Asian Games in Jakarta