I am very happy to make my debut in the UTT in its third season. My team, RP-SG Mavericks Kolkata, is ready and we can't wait to get into action against Goa Challengers on Day Three of this exciting league.
They are a strong team, with Taiwan’s Cheng-I-Ching in their ranks, and I know we will be tested. Even otherwise I know that we can’t afford to relax for even a moment. I, however, don’t think too much about all the clashes in a tie. I focus on the match itself as a whole.
The key is to stay in the now and do our best for every point. At the end of it all, we will look at the score and hope that we are on the right side of it.
I don’t think anyone can be termed as a more difficult or less dangerous opponent. Everybody is capable of winning and each of us has to just worry about our own games. I anyway do not think too much about other teams or other players in a tournament like this. As for me, playing in this short format will keep me focused day after day, match after match. I have kept my expectations to myself and will see if the results match the goal that I have set. The most important thing is to stay in the present, zero in on the match and give my very best for each valuable point.
The next three weeks are going to be exciting but tough. The standard of players this season is very high and the tournament, with the new format, is very tight. UTT is played at a different level from what I have been used to and this experience will be very helpful for me to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
Our team is like a family from different countries. We met each other just a few days ago and have jelled well quite nicely. One of our core strengths is that we are one unit. (BVK Sports and Media). (Benedikt Duda plays for RP-SG Mavericks)
