Asian TT | Manav Thakkar ready to step up to the captaincy challenge

Seven years in the past, a bespectacled teenage prodigy from Surat was among the many most promising paddlers on the world circuit. As a part of India’s senior desk tennis squad, Manav Thakkar travelled to Jakarta and Palembang for the 2018 Asian Video games — a wide-eyed debutant soaking within the scale of the continental stage.

Minimize to Sunday, and the 25-year-old finds himself in a unique function altogether — not only a participant, however the chief of India’s males’s group, set to face Hong Kong within the quarterfinals of the twenty eighth Asian desk tennis group championships on the Kalinga Indoor Stadium.

“It’s a enormous honour and accountability,” stated Manav, who additionally plies his commerce within the French league, after India’s apply session on Saturday. “We’re a younger group, however we’re a robust group. All of us have been faring nicely on the worldwide circuit as nicely. Everybody is worked up to translate our glorious preparation right into a efficiency on the desk.”

For the primary time in his profession, Manav will stroll right into a group championship with out the reassuring presence of India’s “huge three.” With A. Sharath Kamal retired, and G. Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai making manner for the youthful brigade, Manav now stands because the bridge between generations — the hyperlink connecting India’s golden period in males’s desk tennis to its subsequent wave of challengers.

Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan in motion towards Maldives within the twenty eighth Asian desk tennis group championship on the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, on Saturday, October 11, 2025.
| Picture Credit score:
BISWARANJAN ROUT

“However having Sharath bhaiya round in itself is a big inspiration and motivation for us,” Manav stated, referring to his long-time mentor and the occasion’s model ambassador.

“To have him across the group, albeit in a unique capability, is a big motivation. Sharath bhaiya and Max (coach Massimo Costantini) have helped us perceive the significance of relishing the expertise of taking part in in entrance of a house crowd.”

On Sunday, the accountability will relaxation on Manav, Manush Shah, and Ankur Bhattacharjee — with S.F.R. Snehit and Payas Jain ready within the wings — to show perception into efficiency and lengthen India’s proud streak to a fourth successive Asian Championship medal.

Essential outcomes: Group stage: Males: Iran bt Maldives 3-0, Thailand bt Nepal 3-0, Qatar bt Bangladesh 3-0, Singapore bt Oman 3-0.

Ladies: Malaysia bt Kyrgyzstan 3-0, Thailand bt Sri Lanka 3-0, Chinese language Taipei bt Macau (China) 3-0.