Teamwork, it has been alleged, makes the dream work. While still unproven, some anecdotal data supporting this hypothesis has been reported as of late in the traditionally solitary sport of table tennis. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has recently launched the #TableTennisUnited program. Aiming to support players, coaches and other members of the worldwide table tennis community whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the campaign features heartfelt appeals from world-class players like Ding Ning, Quadri Aruna, Timo Boll and Sharath Kamal Achanta (pictured, left). While thinking globally, Achanta is also acting locally in his native India. There, he has joined forces with past and present members of the Indian national table tennis team to support the continued rise of Indian table tennis. Achanta is India's all-time men's singles champion with nine such notches on his belt. Still the top-ranked Indian player at age 37, his heels endure constant nipping from his strongest teammate and fiercest rival, 27-year-old Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (pictured, right). Now, they are working together for India's future. They are joined in their efforts by Neha Aggarwal. India's lone woman at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Aggarwal has since retired from playing in order to help improve India's sporting infrastructure. Armed with a master's degree in sports management, she now supports up-and-coming athletes through the GoSports Foundation. "This initiative was championed by myself, Sharath and Neha," explains Gnanasekaran. "Neha was the one who brought us together, of course, with the back-end support from GoSports Foundation." Together, these table tennis titans have engineered a plan to directly fund 100 of India's rising stars to help them continue their training. Each scholarship recipient will receive 10,000 rupees, or about $130 USD. "I feel table tennis has given me everything," said Gnanasekaran. "It's time that I give back to the community. So we thought we would come together. Now it's important we all play as a team." Ergo, we arrive at the inescapable conclusion: Teamwork does, in fact, make the dream work. Q.E.D.

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