Manav has been doing great as well, and it is good to see Sathiyan back. He had a bit of a downfall the last two years, but very, very happy to see [him back] because his experience will count quite a lot from the team's perspective.”

India’s women’s team, meanwhile, has a different task. “I think this time, if we get past that round of 16, once you're in the quarterfinals, you'll have China, Japan, Korea and I think Hong Kong or Singapore, either of these four countries, depending on the draw.

There it's anybody's game, in my opinion, so it is possible.” “I do believe the men have a better chance in the team events than the women do.”

“We can surely get medals in the team events as well. But my biggest bet would surely be the mixed doubles and men’s and women’s doubles events.”

The Manika Batra gapThere is also a conspicuous absence from India’s women’s team. Manika Batra was left out of the Asian Games squad after not meeting the selection criteria, with her absence from domestic events meaning she did not feature in the TTFI’s national rankings.

Batra publicly questioned the consistency and transparency of the selection process and sought a detailed explanation from the federation. ”“You can see from 2018 onwards, that's when she rose.

And till now, you keep seeing these one-off wins. And when we spoke about consistency, right?

Like Manika has been able to consistently beat world top 20 players.” “She is one player who performs well under pressure.

You need those players in your team. Second, also similar is Sreeja.”

“We will miss Manika. But yes, players like her just boost the morale in a different way.

Even from the opponent's perspective that, you know, somebody like her is there. ”“Let's focus on who we have.

Sreeja is just fresh off of winning the feeder at Puerto Princesa. I think, even somebody like a Syndrela Das, she just plays her heart out.”

Divyanshi and Syndrela lead the next generationThere is a wider point to Sharma’s argument about the gap with China, Japan and Korea. India has had players such as Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra who could produce results at the highest level.

Now, Sharma is looking at the teenagers coming through behind them - among them Divyanshi Bhowmick and Syndrela, two players she believes have the game and mindset to eventually challenge the best in Asia. “To build a generation of athletes, say, for example, a Divyanshi Bhowmick or a Syndrela Das, right, at respectively 15 and 17 years old, the sort of game that they have and the mindset that they have, they are really the ones who can consistently be there at the level where we can beat our top class of China, Japan, Korea.”

“Because I can already see the next crop coming up. Just the number of players that have increased in terms of participation.

“They're spending from their own side and going and taking part in tournaments. It's heartening to see that.”

“In table tennis, I am very excited about... One is Syndrela Das.

And second is for Manav and Manush to either get us the men's doubles.

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