Former World champion Peter Karlsson said here today that India has the potential to be a top nation in table tennis and the next 10-15 years will augur well for the sport in the country.
"I think India has a great potential as a table tennis nation. There are many players who have good energy and there are coaches who are interested to educate themselves about the game. The coming 10-15 years it will be very interesting for Indian table tennis," Karlsson told reporters at the Bombay University stadium.
Karlsson, who won four world men's team titles with Sweden and one men's doubles crown between 1989 and 2000, is in the city to conduct a four-day training camp organised by the Mumbai City District Table Tennis Association.
"The potential is a little bit same what I see in China. China is of course 15-20 years ahead of India. India is a big country and I am sure there will be a big number of young players in the future. These players have lot of energy. They are eager to work, eager to achieve something. This is actually a very good potential for the future," he added.
The Swede has been training men's national champion and India no 1 Soumyajit Ghosh for the last two years and said the Siliguri player can break into the top 100 very soon, though he needs to improve his physical fitness.
"Ghosh is a very talented player. He is mentally and tactically very strong. When he came in the beginning, his physical fitness was too weak. He couldn't play training sessions at a high level. He got tired easily.
"I told him we have to work on physical fitness. He was ready to work. It was a little bit painful for him and he has done a great job but still, he has to do more work on physical fitness to take the next step," the Swede said.
