Table Tennis
Indian Women's Table Tennis at the moment surpasses Men
Coach S. Raman believes that men's table tennis in India has fallen behind and Indian women paddlers are superior in most aspects.

Sreeja's Olympic campaign stands as a testament to her mental fortitude and her upward trajectory in the table tennis circuit. (Photo Credit: WTT/X)
The Indian paddle contingent returned from the Paris Olympics with a lot of positives, taking Indian table tennis to new highs.
Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula made history as the first Indian players to reach the round of 16 in singles, while the Indian women’s team advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time.
This was also the first Olympics where both Indian men’s and women’s teams competed in the team events.
S. Raman, former Indian paddler and coach, praised the exceptional performance of the Indian women’s team in an exclusive interview with The Bridge.
The women’s players have outshone their male counterparts, showcasing superior technical skills, fitness, and overall performance.
This dramatic shift was highlighted by Raman, who expressed that the women’s game is now at a markedly higher level compared to the men’s.
“The tables have turned, and it is the women of India who are playing at a much better level technically, skill-wise, and fitness-wise,” Raman said.
He mentioned that men's table tennis in India has fallen behind and Indian women paddlers are superior in most aspects.
Unprecedented run of the Women’s team
"Indian women performed very well, both in the singles and in the team event. Two of our players reached the round of 16 in the singles, which is the first time it is happening, and in fact, Sreeja was 10-6 and 10-5 up against world no.1 Sun Yingha in the first two games," he said.
He did, however, express his disappointment over the women's team's loss to Germany in the round of 16.
"In the team event, I feel that we should have beaten Germany since their no.1 player wasn't playing, but the left-handed singles player from Germany (Annet Kaufmann) defeated both Manika and Sreeja. It was a big chance to get into the semi-finals, I thought when the draw came out we could do it but unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be," he mentioned.
The Germans, led by teenager Annet Kaufmann, performed brilliantly to defeat India 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the women's team event.
The standout performer was Kaufmann, world no.100, who came in as a replacement and managed to defeat both Sreeja and Manika in the singles match.
Talking about Sreeja and her encounter with world no.1 Sun Yingsha, who managed to save nine-game points across the first two games, Raman believed it was purely down to the brilliance of the Chinese paddler.
"It is completely down to the brilliance of Sun Yingsha. In her career, she has probably lost 1 or 2 games at most."When you win many matches and tournaments and have been at the top for a long time, you naturally gain high levels of confidence. You've been in those situations before, so you know what to do, and that's exactly what happened," he said.
"Even then, it is not a bad thing because Sreeja knows that it is Sun Yingsha. She is the world's best player, almost as good as the male paddlers. Yes, she did lose the final to fellow Chinese player Chen Meng but outside of the Chinese, nobody can beat her," he further added.
Let down by the men
As appreciative as Raman was of the women paddlers, he did not mince his words when talking about the Indian men who were, according to him, extremely disappointing.
"Very disappointed with the men's team, both singles and team. They have a lot of catching up to do in quite a few areas, fresh players should be promoted and a change in the scenario is the need of the hour," he said.
He believes that the men’s game in India has evidently lagged behind.
"We have two Indians in the top 25 rankings which is a very good thing to see, Sreeja was able to stand up to the world no.1 and she also won the WTT Feeder events at the start of the year, Manika on her part had a very good Paris Olympics, the trajectory of women's table tennis is positive," he concluded.
The Indian paddlers will return to action at the fifth edition of Ultimate Table Tennis, scheduled to begin on the 22nd of August, in Chennai.