Love at first try: Paddler Snehit narrates his table tennis journey

Hyderabad is usually known as the 'Badminton Captial of India' for having the country's best emerge from the city. 

Snehit SFR also wanted to play badminton as it was his father's dream but when he went to play badminton as a seven-year-old in the stadium, he fell in love with something else, another racquet sport called Table Tennis.

"It was love on the first try for table tennis," the paddler from Hyderabad described.

"I started playing when I first saw it in the stadium. I found it interesting. I first went there to play badminton with my father. He wanted me to become a badminton player. But I found more interest in table tennis. When I first tried it, I fell in love with it," Snehit explained further.

While he started playing it as a hobby, his talent became evident quickly. He mastered the skills and started rising in the age groups. 

"Within five years, I was playing on the Indian team by the age of eleven. In the under-12 categories, I started representing India. But when I was going to school and playing, it was difficult to manage both of them together," Snehit told The Bridge in an exclusive interaction.

When the time came for a tough call of choosing between studies and table tennis, with his parent's support, Snehit went ahead with the sport.

"After the 12th class, I had to take a call. To choose between the sport or studies. I realized that I have a talent for table tennis. My parents believed in me. I had a discussion with my parents about whether I should play table tennis and build a career in table tennis and their belief confirmed my decision," Snehit explained.

Taking such a bold call was tough for a middle-class family with no sports background.

"I come from an ordinary working-class family. From my extended family, nobody has any idea about a career in sports. Everybody pursues academics or is a doctor. My parents were bold, and they made a decision. And I showed the result too. Now they feel pride, and they get a lot of respect," Snehit acknowledged his family's support.

Having trained with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran's coach S Raman and his coach Somnath Ghosh, Snehit is extremely grateful for the coaches and mentors he has.

"I have the right people around me who are supportive of me all the time. Even if I have a small dip, they always pick me up and push me to perform better," Snehit said.

This year's IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis will be extremely crucial for the youngster from Hyderabad who was part of the tournament last time but didn't play.

"I didn't play last year but I was part of the tournament for 18 days and it was a really good learning experience for me. Being the junior, I was getting a lot of help from the senior and international players and getting to practice with them," Snehit said.

Snehit will feature for Jaipur Patriots this year leading the team as a captain and will team up with his coach Somnath Ghosh.

Talking about his excitement about the new season, Snehit said," I was very delighted to be part of the Jaipur Patriots. The coach of the Jaipur team is Somnath Ghosh, my coach. And also in the team, Akula Sreeja is playing in my academy in Hyderabad. My fitness coach, Heeraj Bakshi, travels with the team. All the familiar faces are with me."