‘Nothing was going my way’: Chennai Lions skipper Kirill Gerassimenko reflects on disappointing UTT 2025 season

Kirill Gerassimenko was appointed as the captain of Stanley’s Chennai Lions ahead of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6. The Kazakhstan paddler had come for the tournament in Ahmedabad after losing 2-4 to Hugo Calderano, the eventual silver medallist, in the round of 32 at the World Championships.

In terms of form and experience, the 28-year-old Gerassimenko was a sensible choice to lead the team in yellow since Achanta Sharath Kamal had retired and hence, wasn’t available as a player. In fact, with China’s Fan Siqi and talented Indian youngsters such as Payas Jain and Poymantee Baisya part of the squad, quite a few of the side’s opponents considered it as a title favourite.

However, in a horror show where the former champion failed to win a single tie in the league stage, World No. 54 Gerassimenko’s performance was arguably the biggest blow. The Kazakh managed to win just four out of the 15 games he played in singles across the five ties. He could not convert any of the four Golden Points he contested, which could have changed his tournament to some extent.

“My game style is to play (while standing) a little bit far from the table and bring the balls back, change the variation of the spin and speed. Here, from the first ball, I tried to practice and even in matches but it was really tough to make. The ball doesn’t just go just on the table. Every ball falls down, flying in different ways,” said the Kazakh after the side suffered 3-12 thrashing against defending champion Dempo Goa Challengers.

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Dropped shoulders and doubts in his own ability were visible during his 0-3 loss to Challengers skipper Harmeet Desai. “It was more of a mentality game and fight. I tried to find a way to win points with every ball but nothing was going my way.”

Gerassimenko had played in UTT Season 3 (2019) and Season 4 (2023) but missed the last edition. Did that one-year absence affect him in readjusting to the format?

“I don’t feel tired (due to the format). But it’s a little bit more pressure because I last played two years ago. Maybe, I also forgot how it is,” said Gerassimenko.

“You have the three sets played very quickly. You can lose fast. I was searching for any answers to find my game, to find anything to win the point. I tried to change my racket, rubbers, practised in different ways, but nothing worked.”

Gerassimenko had experienced coaches in Jorg Bitzigeio and Soumyadeep Roy who tried every possible way to turn the tide.

“In the past two weeks, we tried a lot. We had a lot of conversations and video analysis. In practice, we tried different things just to get him in his routine. He really underperformed. I’m not blaming him. It can happen. Sometimes, he felt that he had never played table tennis before. Not result wise but performance wise, he has never played as bad as he did here,” said Bitzigeio.

“Maybe the match against Kanak Jha of Jaipur Patriots, where he lost three Golden Points, could have been a crucial moment for him and the team.”