Kala’s opponents at the Jiwan Lal Memorial Table Tennis Tournament were at least 10-years younger, but the toughest point of his campaign today was a first deuce-victory in the second game of the pre-quarterfinal against Rakesh Handa. In the second round, Amanpreet Singh was left discovering the big loops and counters. He managed a total of 12 points in a straight-game loss, mostly off Kala’s unforced errors.

Amanpreet came here only as an enthusiast and was unlucky to have been pitted against the top seed so early, but Handa, the 16th seed, couldn't make an impression too with an 11-8, 12-10, 11-6 loss.

Kala, coming from a seven-month break due to an operation on his playing hand, provided the reasons for the sorry state of affairs.

“Even if you are talented you have to raise your game against better-ranked opponents. The psychological problem is graver than the technicalities for Delhi players. Footwork and power are some aspects in which they are lagging behind their Bengal, Mahrashtra and Andhra Pradesh opponents. These states have better and systematic ways of grooming the players,” Kala said.

Joint secretary of the Delhi Table Tennis Association, SK Jolly echoed, saying, “We used to have 14-15 matches going on simultaneously and the number of applicants were over 1000. Now we have only 400-500. The preparation for the Commonwealth Games has shut down proper playing facilities including the Talkatora Stadium.”