It may be just a bronze medal, but 16-year-old S. Fidel R. Snehit can be proud of achieving this feat in the juniors category of the ongoing Junior and Youth National table tennis championship in Vadodara — he was, after all, the first boy from Hyderabad to accomplish the same in the last 25 years.
Interestingly, he is a product of the Global Table Tennis Academy run under the tutelage of Somnath Ghosh. The institute, located in Naveen Nagar colony, has just three tables placed in a single room.
Telangana State Table Tennis Association selection committee chairperson A. Narasimha Rao confirmed that Snehit is, in fact, the first player to win a medal in the junior nationals after about 25 years from the Telugu-speaking States.
A student of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Jubilee Hills, Snehit quite rightfully owes the latest feat to his coach Somnath Ghosh as well as the support extended by his school principal, C. Rama Devi.
“At the table, it is my coach who is a constant source of inspiration, and in academics, my principal always supported my cause,” says the smiling 16-year-old, who also took special training under the guidance of S. Raman in Chennai for a month before the tournament.
For the record, Snehit lost to Parth Virmani of Delhi 5-11, 7-11, 12-14, 11-13 in the semifinals to settle for bronze.
It was double delight for the proud coach, as another of his trainee, Akula Sreeja, who was a member of the Airports Authority of India team, won gold in the youth girls team event and then another gold in doubles partnering with Archana.
“It is a matter of great pride that we could produce two young champions from an academy which actually doesn’t look like one. I am proud of the passion displayed by the young talent in that small hall,” says Mr. Ghosh.
