Cuttack: ‘If not table tennis, then I would be a cricketer’ – this was the statement from England international Sam Walker, who is here in Odisha for the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Hall.
Speaking exclusively, Sam opened up to Orissa POST where he revealed his love for cricket, the game which was born in his country.
“Hopefully cricket, who knows (laughs)…” replied Sam when he was asked where would have we seen him if not in table tennis. “I did play cricket. I used to play cricket when I was younger. So (imagining being a cricketer) that would have been great,” he chuckles.
When asked about his choice of ping pong ball over the cherry, Sam said that at the age of 16 he had that option, but by then he had already represented the national table tennis team. “At that age (16), I had to decide whether to go to cricket (or not). And I was already playing for the national (TT) team.
“I was (also) good in cricket and I had been (even) asked to go to trials for some clubs, but as I had already represented my country in TT, so I chose that,” explained Sam.
As Sam is a huge cricket fan, he couldn’t hide his feelings when he was asked about the historic ICC World Cup triumph of their cricket team. “(I’m) just really happy. I’m a big fan of cricket so yeah I watched all the matches.
“I mean, the way we won was quite tense. (It) would have been nice to play India in the final. But it was a good final any way and really happy that we won,” an ecstatic Sam said.
Speaking of the table tennis scenario in England, which is of course a football-loving country, the 24-year-old paddler said that the sport is growing and gradually gaining importance.
“Yes, it’s not the biggest sport (in England) but it’s growing. It needs a lot of work to grow in the eyes of public and we are hoping to make the sport a lot bigger. And our results, in terms of national teams, in past few years… we won the bronze (medal) in the World Championships. We hosted the World Team Cup and we won a bronze there too.
“We did quite well in Commonwealths. We did okay. We are hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2022. So yes it is growing and it has grown from our results. So by the time of 2022 CWG, we would have more followers of TT,” Sam exuded his hopes.
During England’s men’s team event final against India at the ongoing Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, Sam played the decider against an experienced Achanta Sharath Kamal. He put up a good fight in the first set but ended up on the losing side to help his team claim the silver.
“Obviously… really disappointed to lose. But I think it was a good match. The first set was really important. I was 10-6 up and I made one easy mistake and after that he played really well for few points and that rebuilt his confidence. Then he won the first set and he took confidence from that. It was a close match despite the 3-0 scoreline. But yeah, he played really well,” stated the Englishman.
When asked about his thoughts on winning or losing a game at the very moment he is playing, Sam said that he gets confidence and frustrated as well but takes one point at a time.
“(Look) I try not to think of winning or losing the whole match. I just think about the next point. So yeah, it’s difficult some time (after conceding a point), sometimes (I) get frustrated with myself because of making easy mistakes or something like that. So yeah I just think point by point,” Sam asserted.
Speaking of his passion other than sports, Sam said he loves “spending time with family and friends, sometimes fishing” adding that he loves “to cook” as well.
He is in Odisha for a few days now and he didn’t back out to share his experience so far out here. “It’s been very nice. It’s very hot (out here) and obviously from England I’m not used to the heat. But the people are very friendly as everybody looks after us very well. So it’s really nice,” he signed off.