Saha eyes Asiad medal

Kolkata: Having earned India the first ever table tennis gold in Commonwealth Games, Subhajit Saha now has his eyes firm on the next month`s Asian Games. The North Bengal lad, who paired up with Achanta Sharath Kamal for the doubles gold at the Delhi 2010, said they were confident ahead of the XVI Asiad in Guangzhou. "The Asian Games will surely be a tougher task being pitted against top paddling nations like China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. We will give it our best shot and are really looking forward to the challenge," he said. Upbeat of the paddlers prospects at the Asian Games, Saha said, "The Commonwealth Games turned out to be tougher than we had expected. The competition was stiff, but we did manage to pull off a good show," the 28-year-old said. Saha said they would leave for a camp in Patiala on November 3. Saha and Sharath Kamal beat Singapore`s Gao Ning and Yang in a high-octane final to win India the first Commonwealth Games gold medal. Saha was talking on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony organised by East Bengal in association with Vibgyor Group for 11 Delhi Games medalists from the state. Saha was present along with fellow mates Poulami Ghatak, Soumyadip Roy, Mouma Das and archery gold medallist Rahul Banerjee. Mouma, who won the doubles bronze with Poulami, hailed East Bengal for the initiative and said, "This is for the first time we are being felicitated by East Bengal. I`m sure it will motivate the upcoming players. We are really confident after our success in Commonwealth Games. We are looking forward to do well in the Asian Games." At the Delhi Games, India had won five medals in table tennis -- men`s doubles gold, women`s team silver, three bronze medals in men`s singles, women`s doubles and men`s team events. The Asian Games will be held from November 12-27. PTI