Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sharath Kamal will be the top seeded Indian paddler competing in the upcoming Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships here even as defending champion Gao Ning of Singapore will not take part in the event.
India's best bet for a medal, Sharath will be joined by reigning national champion Soumyajit Ghosh, besides 10 other players in different categories.
"Gao Ning has pulled out of the event but there are a few players who are in top-25 in world rankings, set to participate," Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) secretary general Dhanraj Choudhary told PTI.
World No. 14 Gao Ning is preparing for the World Championships, to be held in in Paris immediately after the Commonwealth TT meet, to be held here from May 5-10.
Gao Ning won the men's singles title in the last edition in Glasgow 2009 and was part of the squad which won the team championship.
He achieved a similar feat when the tournament was organised in Jaipur way back in 2007.
In Gao Ning's absence, teammate and 25th-ranked Zhan Jian will enter the tournament as the top seed.
Of the five top-100 players in entry list, four are from Singapore with Sharath, ranked 70th, being the lone Indian.
