The story behind the gradual, gratifying turn of Indian table tennis
IN 1973, the legendary Manjit Singh Dua travelled around three days in train, from Delhi to Madras, to compete in the national table tennis championships. His determination, however, made light of his grime encrusted journey—he won the first of his three national singles titles. That was how things were for sporting stars of yore. If Dua were playing today, he would have made the journey in under three hours, in airline comfort. Revealingly, Dua, who won his titles between 1973 and 1979, plays a crucial role in making things easier for today’s players.
His efforts have borne fruit—the standard of Indian table tennis has improved enormously. Today, there are two Indians in the top 50 of men’s rankings of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)—Achanta Sharath Kamal (43rd) and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan (46th)— while the men’s team is ranked a creditable 11th. In the women’s category, Manika Batra (69th) and Mouma Das (117th) have the best ranks; the team is ranked 24th.
The image of the sport in the country got a humongous fillip after the teams’ extraordinary performance at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Gold Coast, where India won an unprecedented eight TT medals, including Manika’s epoch making gold in women’s singles and two more in the men’s and women’s categories. Continuing their golden CWG roll, the men’s team finished 13th—up from 25th in 2016—at the World Team Championship this April though, with Indians still punch drunk with the CWG exploits, the players didn’t get enough kudos for that.
This story is from the May 28, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 28, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Propaganda Files
A recent spate of Hindi films distorts facts and creates imaginary villains. Century-old propaganda cinema has always relied on this tactic
Will Hindutva Survive After 2024?
The idealogy of Hindutva faces a challenge in staying relevant
A Terrific Tragicomedy
Paul Murray's The Bee Sting is a tender and extravagant sketch of apocalypse
Trapped in a Template
In the upcoming election, more than the Congress, the future of the Gandhi family is at stake
IDEOLOGY
Public opinion will never be devoid of ideology: but we shall destroy ourselves without philosophical courage
The Many Kerala Stories
How Kerala responded to the propaganda film The Kerala Story
Movies and a Mirage
Previously portrayed as a peaceful paradise, post-1990s Kashmir in Bollywood has become politicised
Lights, Cinema, Politics
FOR eight months before the 1983 state elections in undivided Andhra Pradesh, a modified green Chevrolet van would travel non-stop, except for the occasional pit stops and food breaks, across the state.
Cut, Copy, Paste
Representation of Muslim characters in Indian cinema has been limited—they are either terrorists or glorified individuals who have no substance other than fixed ideas of patriotism
The Spectre of Eisenstein
Cinema’s real potency to harness the power of enchantment might want to militate against its use as a servile, conformist propaganda vehicle