Table tennis Sanil rides as his career progresses

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

The 32-year-old sighed in relief as he won his first national tournament in Dehradun last week.

A long wait

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 really relieved, Sanil, who was ranked the best in the men’s singles, said Hindu here on Monday, the South Zone National-ranking tournament eve here.

More than losses in tournaments, he was plagued by recurring losses to A. Amalraj.

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 didn’t feel comfortable with Amal either. 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, when I play, I should get to 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 with top Indian stars Sharath Kamal and G. Sathiyan away.

“We have 5-6 players who can win the championship. The competition is going to be tough,” he said.