CTTF chairman hails Indian table tennis players

Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation (CTTF) chairman Alan Ransome praised India's table tennis players and said he is expecting good results from the Indian players in the ongoing 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, hosted by India.

"India's standard of table tennis players have been improving over the last few years. The performance of the Indian players in the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast was very good. India was the most successful country winning many medals at the Commonwealth Games and I am expecting India is going to do very well here too," Ransome told ANI on Wednesday.

The 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships commenced on Wednesday and India made an impeccable start as they topped their groups to qualify for the Super Eight stage in both men's and women's team.

However, Ransome added that it will not be an easy task for the Indian players as they will compete against good countries.

"But it will not be easy as there are several good countries including Singapore who have been very strong over many years, England who are the first champions in the Commonwealth and Nigeria are very strong and then you have Australia and several other countries who are all capable of good results. So, it looks like a very interesting competition," he said.

Keeping the tough competition in mind, Ransome is hoping for some terrific matches.

"My hope is that this is going to be a very successful championship. Many of the best players are here; it is a very even competition. I am hopeful that the matches will be terrific," Ransome said.

The championship will conclude on July 22.