Hyderabad: Local table tennis players Akula Sreeja and S Fidel R Snehit, both coached by the esteemed Somnath Ghosh, have been chosen to represent India at the 28th ITTF-ATTU Asian Table Tennis Team Championships, taking place from October 11 to 15 at the Athletics Centre of Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) announced the teams on Thursday. Sreeja, ranked World No. 42 and India No. 6, along with Snehit, who is World No. 106 and India No. 8, will compete as part of the national team. It is a unique achievement for a single academy to have two of its players selected for the Indian team at the same time.
Somnath Ghosh, Chief Coach of the Somnath Ghosh UTT Academy, expressed his delight, stating, “I am extremely happy with the selection of my two students in the national team. A lot of hard work has gone into this, and I am proud of them.” Both players conveyed their determination to bring honor to the country by striving for medals. The Indian squads for the Asian TT Championships are as follows: Men’s Team: Manav Thakkar (WR-42), Manush Shah (WR-72), S. F. R. Snehit (WR-106), Payas Jain (WR-143), Ankur Bhattacharjee (WR-144); Women’s Team: Akula Sreeja (WR-42), Manika Batra (WR-55), Yashashwini Ghorpade (WR-72), Diya Chitale (WR-87), Swastika Ghosh (WR-103).