Throwback to the WTT Star Contender Goa: The Good, The Bad, The Quirky 

This is the second edition of India’s very own WTT Star Contender event, with the first iteration organised in 2023. Kudos to Stupa Sports Analytics for keeping up the good work and giving Indian Table Tennis fans a glimpse of top players from the country and around the world. This time, it was held from January 23 to 28, at the Peddem Indoor Stadium in Goa, as opposed to the March scheduling of last year. This is somewhat strange, because most tournaments try to keep the scheduling across seasons intact, to make sure it becomes a part of the fan’s memory and turns into an annual sports pilgrimage. Ever heard of Wimbledon being held in winter? Of course, certain acts of god, like COVID 19 can lead to disruption like the Tokyo Olympics. Here, I present a list titled: The Good, The Bad, The Quirky, where I discuss the different aspects of the tournament from a fan’s point of view. 

The Good:

1. It was good to see Indian women upping their game in the Olympic season, with Sreeja Akula reaching the quarterfinals and Manika Batra reaching the pre-quarterfinals. Both of them put up a good show, before eventually going down fighting hard. 
2. The food in the lounge (accessible to VIP and Premium ticket holders) was lip-smackingly good as it was being prepared fresh and hot. The variety available also catered to different needs, ranging from the usual packaged beverages and tea/coffee, to pav bhaji and chaat, to sandwiches and corn salad and sweets. The taste buds were satisfied. 

The Bad:

1. It is appalling to see that in a tournament on home soil, the legendary Indian men Sathiyan Gnanasekharan and age-defying Sharath Achanta Kamal were not given wildcards. Instead, they had to battle it out in the qualifiers, where lady luck was not on their side, as they narrowly lost. 
2. Indian brands should be promoted, especially Stag, which is a globally recognised table tennis equipment manufacturer. In fact, last year, Stag Americas Gold tables were used. I wonder why the shift to Stiga tables was made this time. 
3. The Chinese contingent was completely absent from a tournament that had previously hosted Fan Zhendong. What is a Table Tennis tournament without a single Chinese player? 

The Quirky:

• This one is absolutely absurd and drove me bonkers, for want of a better word. Premium and VIP ticket holders do not have access to matches held at other tables. This was a problem with the seating arrangement and the way the tables were lined up, which was not the case in the previous edition. Also, the practice tables were in a different room, meaning you could not get a view of the pre-match training of most players. 

As an amateur table tennis player myself, I pay close attention to the different techniques used by the players. In particular, I analysed the Sreeja Akula-Cheng I-Ching matchup. Before her quarterfinal encounter with Sreeja Akula, Cheng I-Ching, the eventual champions, practised playing against defensive techniques with her coach. This is because Akula uses long pimpled rubber on her backhand. In the video I recorded, you can see Cheng I-Ching hitting topspins against her coach’s defence and then finishing it up with a strong inside-in forehand down the line. This strategy was successfully implemented by her to win the match, the highlights of which can be watched on the official YouTube channel of World Table Tennis (WTT).