By IANS
Kolkata : The Arjuna Award has helped fuel table tennis player Subhajit Saha’s ambitions of making it to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and bring more laurels to the country.
The India number two Saha is excited about the Aug 29 awards ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan when he collects the prestigious trophy from President Pratibha Patil.
The Arjuna Award, India’s oldest sports honour, was launched in 1961 and comprises a cheque of Rs.300,000, a statuette of legendary archer Arjuna and a scroll of honour in recognition of outstanding achievements at international competitions.
The elated Bengal paddler feels honoured and humbled by the recognition.
Talking to IANS, Saha said: “The very fact that I have been considered good enough for the award gives me immense pleasure. This award will spur me to (go for) bigger achievements.”
Subhajit, who won his maiden national title in 2006, is ready for the future challenge and has set his sights on qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. Ranked 252nd in the world, he faces an uphill task.
“I have received congratulations from Sharath (Kamal), Mouma (Das) and Poulami (Ghatak). They are all close friends. Now I want to make it to the Beijing-bound team with them,” he added.
“It is very important for me to qualify for the Olympics. I know the path will be tough, but I am ready to sweat it out. I will play a few ranking tournaments and then hope for the best.”
Subhajit, who next heads for the Sep 17-23 Asian championships at Yangzhou, China, said: “Players from China, South Korea and Taiwan will get automatic entries due to their world ranking. It’s tough to qualify for the remaining two Asian slots for the team event because we must compete with Singapore and Japan. Qualifying in the individuals will be easier as we meet only South Asian opponents.”
The likes of Subhajit, India number one Achinta Sharath Kamal and Soumyadip Roy have forged a great combination for India in the international meets. They have already won gold medals in the 2006 South Asian Federation Games and the last Commonwealth championships.
“The best thing is that the three of us are great friends. We hang out together all the time and are constantly egging each other to perform better. Being about the same age also helps. We also enjoy a very healthy competition among us. I am sure this will help Indian table tennis in the long run.”
Speaking about his future plans, the diminutive Siliguri lad said: “You have to play in the European leagues to improve the standard of your game. If things work out I will be playing in the Spanish league in September. But negotiations are still at a very early stage.
“I have also had great help from coach Hubert Hstache who taught me not to be over-aggressive. My forte is my service and topspin. I have to improve on my defence. Talking to former world no 1 Jean Michelle Sieve was a great lesson. His tips are invaluable. TTFI is also helping us with regular exposure trips,” he added.
About India’s remarkable victory in the Commonwealth championships, Subhajit said: “The competition was really tough. Nigeria was far ahead of us in the world rankings, so was Britain. Moreover, the Nigerians had a few Chinese players in their team.
“It was a remarkable effort from us. But now it will be tough to defend our title at New Delhi in 2010. We had the surprise element in our favour at Manchester, but now the teams will be prepared to handle our game.”
All excited about the next national championships, to be played in his hometown Siliguri, Subhajit quipped: “I am the defending champion and it is also my hometown. The pressure will be there but I am ready. Table tennis is very popular in Siliguri and this is for the first time such a high profile event is being organised there.
“The tournament is definitely going to be a success and you can expect great support from the spectators.”
The Bengal lad, who recently married his long-time girlfriend and fellow paddler Nandita, definitely has the lady luck smiling on him.