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Indian table tennis star Sharath Kamal has credited Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) for discovering at least one new talented paddler every year. He highlighted the exposure the young Indian table tennis players get by participating in the league.
Sharath Kamal lauded the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for coming up with the concept of UTT during an exclusive interaction with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda Live.
On being asked how UTT has helped Indian table tennis, Sharath Kamal responded that the tournament has brought to the fore at least one new promising Indian youngster in each of the three years of its existence.
"Since the year it started in 2017, every year we have got at least one new find into the international arena."
The veteran paddler mentioned that the current Indian table tennis stars G Sathiyan and Manika Batra gained a lot of exposure from the inaugural season of the league.
"The first season it was G Sathiyan and Manika Batra. After UTT the kind of exposure they got, the kind of experience they had in UTT, in 2018 they performed fantastically well."
Sharath Kamal added that promising youngsters like Manav Thakkar, Archana Kamath and Sutirtha Mukherjee have also come to the fore in the last two editions of UTT.
"Then it was Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath in 2018. In 2019, it was Sutirtha Mukherjee."
Sharath Kamal on the exposure provided by UTT
Sharath Kamal opined that UTT gives the Indian table tennis players a similar exposure to what he got by plying his trade in European leagues during his formative years.
"So, UTT is giving us the kind of experience which I was looking for in Europe 15 years ago. I went there trying to find the source of knowledge, trying to practice with those guys, having that kind of exposure and playing matches with the best of the best."
"And that exact situation is brought to India and given to these young players at a very young age which helps them mature and have the right kind of exposure into the top level of table tennis."
Sharath Kamal credited the league for the improvements in the rankings of the Indian men's and women's table tennis teams, with both the outfits achieving their best rankings.
"So, that is also the reason why we have improved on our international rankings. India is currently World No.8 in the men's section and I think we are 15 or 16 in the women's section. We have never had these rankings. One of the main reasons for this is UTT."
Indian table tennis has been on a high in the last couple of years. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the country bagged a total of 8 medals including 3 golds.
They backed up this performance with an unprecedented 2 bronze medals at the 2018 Asian Games, raising hopes of a coveted medal from the paddlers at the upcoming 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
