India, Oct. 10 -- A year ago from the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Kazakhstan, the Indian contingent walked away with three medals. Two of them came from team events, including a stunning silverware by the women beating Paris Olympics medallists South Korea.

As the continental showpiece comes to India one year ahead of the 2026 Asian Games in the form of only team events starting on Saturday in Bhubaneswar, both the hosts' defending bronze medallists wear a "renovated" look, as India's head coach Massimo Costantini termed it.

There's no Sharath Kamal (retired), G Sathiyan (personal reasons) and Harmeet Desai from the 2024 men's batch. This bunch features Ankur Bhattacharjee, 18, Payas Jain, 21, and Snehit Suravajjula, 25. The wom...