by Simon Daish, Interview conducted by Neha Aggarwal
Assisting national coach Massimo Costantini in Düsseldorf, Soumyadeep Roy expressed his delight with his invite to the event from the Table Tennis Federation of India and greatly enjoyed his time with the squad.
“First of all it has always been a pleasure for me to contribute to the national team, be it as a player or as a coach and the 2017 World Championships in Dusseldorf was no exception. Me being a witness of 12 such World Championships, the latest one in Dusseldorf will always remain very close to my heart. Because it is the first time my roll was different with more challenges and responsibilities as a coach”, Soumyadeep Roy.
The Liebherr 2017 World Championships provided many great sporting moments, and there were a few notable efforts from some of the Indian contingent at the competition.
Sharath Kamal Achanta caused a big upset by toppling Ukraine’s Kou Lei before securing a third round finish in the Men’s Singles event, while Manika Batra successfully negotiated her opening round encounter in the Women’s Singles draw.
However, surely the standout achievement came in the Women’s Doubles category as Mouma Das and Manika Batra became the first fully-Indian pairing to claim a quarter-final finish in the history of the World Championships and Roy is encouraged by India’s showing in Germany.
“It is been a wonderful experience to work with the current Indian team which has a classic blend of experienced paddlers and young legs. I was thrilled and excited to be a part of some of the great victories by our players. The great run by Manika and Mouma in the Women’s Doubles by reaching the quarter-finals stage gave me a lot of happiness and satisfaction…
… On the other side Sharath’s superb show of reaching the 3rd round and almost establishing his supremacy over the Chinese player is something which I will cherish for the rest of my life. I believe both Sathiyan and Soumyajit had their chances to win their first round matches. Manika was impressive to win her first round match in the Women’s Singles”, Soumyadeep Roy.
The Liebherr 2017 World Championships provided fans from across the globe with an innovative and exciting experience throughout the week’s action, while there was no shortage of drama and shock results to talk about.
Roy was also impressed with the overall organisation of the event and is confident that India’s stars will continue to show good progress following a positive campaign at the tournament.
“As far as the organising is concerned, it was as usual typically very well organised German style. I feel Indian T.T is on right track and we will see lots of good results in the coming days”, Soumyadeep Roy.
