A narrow loss and one massive win. Clearly, we (Dabang Delhi) have had a pretty good run in the Ultimate Table Tennis so far. It has been quite an experience, being part of such a tough competition in front of such a wonderful audience.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my four matches and I am happy to be on the winning side in each of them. The key is to keep making changes to the game as fast as possible and I think I have been successful in adapting to the new format. That is what has worked in my favour.
Personally, even if things are not in my comfort zone, I try to drag myself out of it. I try to put the pressure back on my opponent which is always my first goal. This is what happened in my match against Manav Thakkar of U Mumba, whom we eventually beat 9-6.
All this is possible due to my mental conditioning training. The key is to detach yourself from the scoreline and focus purely on the next point. So, even when Manav was playing an attacking game and I was trailing him briefly, I waited for the right moment to hit back. It worked as he faltered and failed to take the point.
Overall, I have been happy with the way I have led the team. My team has lot of expectations from me, as well as confidence, and I hope I can continue to live up to it.
The league has helped us recognise and groom youngsters. I think Manav is one of the best young players in the country. In fact, it would only be fair to say that he is already there at the next level.
We next take on Goa Challengers, which in my opinion is one of the best teams in the league. Archana Kamath is a very strong Indian player and Amalraj Anthony has also been playing well. Then there is Alvaro Robles, whom I lost to recently in Korea and World No. 8 women’s player Cheng I-Ching, the highest ranked player in the league.
Even though we are the defending champions, I think Goa is slightly better than us on paper so I think it will be a close match. We will devise a clear strategy for them though I believe that the mixed doubles will be the deciding factor in it.
(BVK Sports and Media)
(Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is the captain of Dabang Delhi T.T.C. in UTT)
