Table Tennis News : Indian paddler Harmeet Desai speaks to PS ahead of Asian C'ship

Indian men's and women's squads for the Asian Table Tennis Championship which begins in Doha from September 28 are selected. Veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal will spearhead the men's challenge in the company of G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar and Sanil Shetty. Star Indian paddler Manika Batra is left out of the Indian squad. In the absence of the world number 56th player, 97th-ranked Sutirtha Mukherjee will lead the women's team. The other members are Ayhika Mukherjee and Archana Kamath. The Table Tennis Federation of India had made it clear that any player not attending the camp will not be considered for selection. Manika had informed the federation that she would like to continue training with her personal coach in Pune. Powerhouse China is not taking part in the Asian TT championship raising medal hopes in the men's team event. And in the women's event Manika Batra will be sorely missed as she is a vital cog in the wheel for India.