NEW DELHI: It was 2023. Almost two years had handed since India achieved its best-ever tally of seven medals on the Olympic Video games in Tokyo. With new information being set and the nation’s requirements in Olympic sports activities raised, Tokyo 2020 ignited a never-seen-before spark amongst aspiring athletes throughout varied disciplines, all wanting to make their mark on the nationwide degree and maybe safe a spot within the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Nevertheless, not everybody bought the possibility to stay that dream. For budding paddler Diya chitalethe dream of competing in Paris was shattered by an unexpected foot damage.
“That was the yr they had been choosing gamers for the 2024 Olympic Video games. The group was going to be finalised. However in October 2023, I suffered a stress fracture in my left foot. In consequence, I couldn’t compete in two nationwide tournaments or the nationwide championships. I used to be not absolutely match,” Diya tells TimesofIndia.com.
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Quick ahead to January 2025, and Diya Chitale has now turn out to be a extra mature model of herself. That maturity shone by within the remaining of the Senior Nationwide Desk Tennis Championshipsthe place she confronted one in all India’s finest and now an Olympian, Sree and Akula.
Overcoming a 0-2 deficit, Diya staged a exceptional comeback to make it 4-3, clinching her maiden senior nationwide title on the age of 21.
“Turning into the Senior Nationwide Champion was one in all my desires. I had received on the U-15, U-18, and U-21 ranges, however by no means within the senior ladies’s class. It was one thing I actually needed to attain,” says the paddler, who’s presently recovering from a shoulder damage.
Desk Tennis: No Longer Only a ‘Passion’
In contrast to many athletes who start their journey with structured teaching from an early age, Diya’s introduction to desk tennis was unplanned. “It was only a passion,” she admits. “I used to be very lively as a baby, and through household holidays, we might all the time play desk tennis. I began practising at Khar Gymkhana, however the turning level got here in 2014 once I received silver on the U-12 Nationwide Championships. That’s when my passion became my ardour.”
Preparation was key for the starlet. Alongside along with her coach, Sachin Shetty, she spent months strategising and tailoring her coaching to counter India’s top-ranked gamers.
“We had been actually well-prepared, each when it comes to gameplay and psychological power,” she recollects. “At a match just like the Nationals, everybody needs to win, however being mentally robust is simply as necessary as bodily ability.”
Born right into a household of docs and academics, Diya by no means felt the stress of teachers, because of her supportive mother and father, Reshma and Parag Chitale. “They’ve actually been my pillars of power,” she shares. “We by no means had discussions about whether or not I ought to pursue sports activities professionally or focus fully on teachers. No matter choice I made, they all the time supported me. Once I went overseas for long-term coaching, my mother even travelled with me.”
Diya’s faculty, Arya Vidya Mandir, additionally performed an important function in her journey, offering her with the flexibleness to stability her teachers with desk tennis. “I used to be fortunate to obtain that help from my household and everybody round me,” she continues.
‘The Shift within the Indian Mindset’
The rise of desk tennis in India echoes a shift in societal attitudes, in line with Diya. She believes the standard emphasis on teachers over sports activities is progressively altering.
“Earlier, the main focus in India was totally on research and teachers. However I believe that’s actually altering now. Previously few years, many individuals have taken up sports activities professionally and made it a profession. I additionally suppose folks are actually watching a greater variety of sports activities past cricket, and different disciplines are getting way more recognition. Take a look at what (PV) Sindhu and Saina (Nehwal) did for badminton. I consider the identical is going on in desk tennis, with many Indian gamers making their manner into the highest world rankings,” says the Mumbai-born athlete, who just lately accomplished her BBA from Chitkara College.
A Dream of an Olympic Medal
A typical coaching day for Diya is something however odd. “I follow twice a day — as soon as within the morning and as soon as within the night — with every session lasting round two and a half hours, plus two hours of health coaching,” says Diya, a thriller TV collection buff who now barely has time to take pleasure in them.
Her routine additionally consists of psychological wellness workouts and dealing with a sports activities psychologist to keep up her focus.
Her aggressive enjoying type, powered by the paddle floor of plain rubber, units her aside.
“I’m an attacking participant from each my forehand and backhand. There are a lot of, many gamers in India who play with totally different sorts of supplies. I desire a plain rubber paddle — no different materials — as a result of it fits my aggressive strategy,” Diya tells TimesofIndia.com.
Whereas mirroring a glimpse of her ambition, she concludes, “My rapid objective is to interrupt into the highest 50 on this planet rankings. In combined doubles, my companion Manush and I are already within the high 15, and we wish to break into the highest 10 and compete for a medal at main worldwide occasions. However after all, the last word dream is all the time to win a medal for India on the Olympics.”
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