Whether it is cricket or Hockey, the match between India and Pakistan is always watched by spectators with lot of enthusiasm. During the team event of 40+ men in the South Asian veterans’ Table Tennis Championship, the Indian team took the challenge from their Pakistani counterparts, as they had defeated their other team in the semi finals. But, Vikas Mahajan, Harjinder and Manmeet were all mentally prepared to take on consistent Aseem Qureshi and his team mates Shehzad and Nazeem Khan.
Vikas Mahajan 3rd from left with his partners Harjinder and Manmeet ( Ext Right in Red) and Pakistani players.
The match began late in the evening on the second day of the tournament and it was battle of wits till the scores were leveled at 2-2. The deciding match had to be postponed to next day morning, due to technical problem at the venue. Harjinder had to play the last match and certainly there was pressure on him. But, how did they prepare? We asked Vikas Mahajan the National Veterans’ Champion . And, he said, “ We were mentally prepared for our match against Pakistan. So next day morning we woke up early in the morning and performed Yoga practices in the open air. And, this really helped us win the last match.”
Indeed, it was a good match enjoyed by local Sri Lankans, who had gathered in large number to witness this final. In the individual Singles event, Vikas faced Sri Lankan Indika Prasad in the finals, but had to concede the match due to shoulder injury in the second game. However in 50+ Men’s singles Sunil Babras of India scored 3-1 victory over Pakistan’s Aseem Qureshi.