It was the first time a gold medal was placed around Sanil Shetty’s neck on Monday, and destiny most certainly played its part. He is part of the table tennis contingent that clinched the ninth gold medal in the Men’s Team Event for India at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 after beating Nigeria 3-0 in the finals.
The euphoria of the Village (where the players stay) could be heard over the phone call and in Sanil’s voice soon after stepped off the podium.
It was almost a cakewalk for the team after they beat Singapore in the semi-finals, where there were anxious moments as the game could go either way. It started with Singapore taking a 0-1 lead but Sharath Kamal leveled for India but it went on till 2-2 to be decided in the final round. The veteran had the nerves to take India to the finals and then the team breezed through the finals against Nigeria.
Sanil, who left with the contingent, was not sure if he would be cleared to the play. He was selected as a replacement for Soumyajit Ghosh, who was dropped because of rape allegations against him. Sanil’s situation was only cleared a couple of days before the opening ceremony of the CwG. “The first ever gold of my life after playing for so many years,” said an elated Sanil, amidst the celebrations that followed after the final.
“It is really amazing how the game has developed in India. The girls yesterday (Sunday) inspired us and showed great nerve to get a gold,” he says. The women’s team grabbed a gold thanks to Manika Batra’s heroics on Saturday.
Before leaving for the CwG, Sanil talked about improving his world rank and this ticket is undeniably a decent chance for him to gain confidence and return back with more improvements. His backhand is quick like a rocket. He hasn’t featured yet but his chance is about to arrive.
Although Sanil has not appeared yet in any of the games, he will pair up with Pune’s Madhurika Patkar in the mixed doubles and Harmeet Desai in men’s doubles on April 11. Team captain Sharath has pinned his hopes the men’s duo to clinch a gold. “We have our top players in them. They can surely get us a gold if they get in the right rhythm. All of us are really confident about it,” said Kamal.
