South Zone Table Tennis National Ranking Tournament: Sanil Shetty wants to stay in good shape

Sanil Shetty’s career is on the rise and she wants to drive in good shape right now.

The 32-year-old sighed in relief as he won his first national tournament in Dehradun last week after almost six years. Most recently, she won the Northern Zone title in the men’s singles competition in 2013-14; that year he won his first national championship crown.

– I have competed in almost 20 national tournaments since then and played in 10 finals. I felt relieved, ”said Sanil Shetty, the best player in the men’s singles Sportstar here on Monday, the eve of the South Zone National Ranking Tournament.

More than losses in tournaments, recurring losses to A. Amalraj plagued him endlessly. When he defeated Amalraj in the 2018 North Zone semifinals after six previous failures, he was given the impetus to start a new mini-shift.

– It took a while before I adapted to the changes in rubber, balls and other things. I also didn’t enjoy playing with Amal. Beating Amal in the seventh and decisive game after 1-5, winning 11-5 in the North Quarterfinals was a turning point in my career, Sanil said.

With a fresh and positive mind, Sanil is eager to make it here. “I play well and my game has improved. Ideally, I should play in the finals,” he said.

Harmeet Desailla, on the other hand, has a relatively quiet season. The 28-year-old, who recently married another player, Krittwika Sinha Roy, thinks things won’t be easy even if India’s top stars Sharath Kamal and G. Sathiyan aren’t involved. “We have 5-6 players who can win the championship. The competition is going to be tough,” he said.

The men’s and women’s singles matches start on Tuesday.