For Hyderabad-based paddler Fidel R. Snehit, it was yet another happy outing when he bagged the second spot at the CBSE national table tennis championship held in Vadodara.
Snehit, a class 11 student of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Public School, Jubilee Hills, has been one of the most consistent performers in his age group, and his silver in the under-17 category singles was no surprise to his coach, Somnath Ghosh.
The talented paddler lost to India no. 2 Manush Shaw of Gujarat 13-11, 6-11, 3-11, 6-11 in the finals — a disappointing end to Snehit’s run, in which he did not lose a match till then.
“Manush played very well and it was a learning experience for me. I need to work hard,” said Snehit, who is in top eight in India rankings. He is Telangana no. 1 in the juniors and youth categories. He also bagged the runners-up trophy at the junior national tournament held in Rajkot recently.
“I am grateful to my school’s principal, C. Rama Devi, and coach Somnath Ghosh at the Global Table Tennis Academy for their wonderful support,” said a grateful Snehit.
Ms. Devi also congratulated Snehit on his victory, and recalled that the BVBPS had won the school national tournament for the first time under Snehit’s captaincy three years ago. “He has been proving his mettle and improving his game to face competition at the national and international level. He is a promising national player from Telangana,” she said in a statement.
She also lauded the school team comprising B. Virshin, B. Vatsin, and Dhanush for winning the under-17 bronze prize in the CBSE national tournament.