The BOSM English Press contacted the Boys’ Table Tennis Captain Achintya Shankar to learn more about the team’s preparations for BOSM. Achintya talked about the team’s morale being quite high as the fest is taking place after three years, with everyone practising twice a day and giving as much time as possible. The team has been doing multi-ball practice routines and brushing up on different kinds of shots to prepare for the upcoming tournament.

In the days leading up to BOSM, Achintya planned to conduct as many practice matches as possible to prepare his team. He will be focusing on the new format that has been set for the tournament in order to maximise the team’s home advantage. Achintya mentioned that everything had been running smoothly except for the inventory, which was received quite late, causing players to practise with subpar racquets. Since this will be Achintya’s first BOSM, he reached out to his seniors to find out about the team’s past performances in the fest and for advice to improve their game. 

In BOSM 2019, two table tennis teams—Team A and Team B—were constructed in such a way that the good players were distributed equally among both teams; however, neither team advanced to the semifinals. Achintya said that this time the teams have been split up so that Team A has the best players and thus a better chance of making it to the semifinals. A team from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi, that has defeated the BITS team in previous tournaments is coming for the fest. Achintya said that the team is looking forward to playing them at BOSM.

Being captain has been a great experience for Achintya, and he is grateful for having a team that is willing to listen to their captain and improve consistently. He is very confident and has high hopes for BOSM.