"What I really wanna know," The Clash rhetorically asked, "should I stay or should I go?" At the moment, India's top paddlers are facing a clash of their own. While all are doubtlessly eager to train and play competitively again, many are expressing their reservations about the wisdom of doing so. Here's the backstory. India, like most of the world, has endured months of lockdown and quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine-time Indian men's singles champion Sharath Kamal Achanta expresses his frustration at the situation. "It's very uncertain," says Achanta. "It's difficult times for a sportsperson. It has put us in dilemma. We don't know when will the next tournament happen and when we will start our training again. All the academies and gyms are closed and there is no player with whom I can practice with at the moment." This week, the government of India announced the reopening of its sports centers. The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) wasted no time trying to get back to work. On Monday morning, TTFI secretary general M P Singh asked the nation's top 16 players to report for duty. "We have written to the players (8 men and 8 women) to check their availability for the training camp as early as next week," said Singh. "If they are ready to resume training, we can organize something by next week or end of the month." Aside from the obvious health risks of asking players to travel and congregate during the deadliest pandemic in over a century, there are other logistical hurdles. Players hail from all across the vast nation. For example, the top two men, Achanta and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, hail from Chennai, while the top woman Manika Batra hangs her hat 570 miles northwest in Pune. Pressed for specifics, Singh passed the buck. "Since the government announced the opening of stadiums and complexes, it must have thought about how it would reopen sporting activity in the country," said Singh. "It can only answer on how it plans to assemble the players at one place. Either of the three centers... will be fine with us." While the TTFI has been unable to provide a clear plan, the players are clearly not interested, at least for now. "We were asked to join the camp at the end of the month but I feel it is too early for that," said Sharath Kamal Achanta. "Cases [of COVID-19] continue to rise and travel restrictions are in place. Training can wait until the situation improves significantly." Achanta's teammate and rival Sathiyan Gnanasekaran agrees. "It is not safe to travel in a given situation," says Gnanasekaran. "I would prefer to train in Chennai at Raman TTHPC along with my coach (S Raman) and a few sparring partners post the lockdown." While everyone is certainly champing at the bit to play again, the players are playing the long game. "There is no event planned in the near future," points out Achanta. "It would be nice for the whole team to be together again but not anytime soon." It is understandable why the TTFI should be eager to resume business as usual. The players, however, are demonstrating farther-reaching vision than their leadership. Time will tell who should stay and who should go.

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