M.R. Balamurugan, a nine-year-old student of the SBOA Matriculation Higher Secondary School (Anna Nagar) achieved a rare feat when he finished the season as the number one table tennis player in the Under-10 category in the state. He won all the nine State-ranking table tennis tournaments and followed this up with a victory in the boys’ mini-cadet (U-10) section of the State championship.
On his achievement, he said, “I am really happy that I didn’t lose even a single match, and I hope I can repeat the feat in the cadet (U-12) category too.”
Balamurugan joined the MAK Table Tennis Academy in M.A. Krishnaswamy School, Anna Nagar, at the age of four and has been participating in several school tournaments for the past two years.
He was drawn to table tennis seeing his elder brother and sister play the sport. He has now achieved more that what his siblings have. He practises regularly after school and he says this doesn’t affect his studies. On whether he wants to take up the sport full-time, he says he has no such plans at this point in time.
Balamurugan says he has had his nervous moments in State championship. “Coach M. S. Ashok Kumar’s advice helped me overcome the nervousness and made me confident,” he says.
Ashok Kumar, a former coach of the Indian national table tennis team who now runs the MAK Table Tennis Academy, has played a huge role in the boy’s success. He is proud of his protégé Balamurugan and reckons that in another two years he could represent India.
“I expected him to remain unbeaten in the tournament and I am really happy that he did it,” he said. The coach has a special word of praise for Raj Mohan, correspondent of M.A. Krishnaswamy School, thanking him for allowing table tennis classes to be conducted at the school. “For any sport venture to develop, there must be a good support system. Luckily for us, the correspondent is supporting and we are grateful to him,” says Ashok Kumar.
