World No24 seeks Telangana govt’s support

Hyderabad: In what can be described as a remarkable achievement by any table tennis player from the two Telugu-speaking States, the prodigiously gifted Hyderabad teenager S Fidel R Snehit has jumped a whopping 64 places in the Under-18 boys world rankings in a mere span of eight months. Not only that, he has broken into the category’s Top 25, a first for Telugu paddler.

Having started at World No 88 in June, he has now achieved an envious No 24 rank (it was 64 in November) in the latest global rankings. This has been largely because of the impressive performance in the year-ending World Junior TT Championships held in Italy between November 26 and December 3. That followed the gold and two silver medals in Jordan in July and top-grade feats in Slovenia and the Indian Open.  

In terms of national competition, he is behind Manav Thakkar, the Gujarat junior player, who is currently the World No 2 in the category. This is where the catch is! Manav is completely sponsored by his State government, which extends support, including taking care of his overseas tours whilst Snehit, back home, is devoid of any such governmental generosity.

The difference is evidently indicative of how one with no worries on crucial aspects like economic compulsions could focus on the game while one who has to depend on independent sources can be ill-at-ease and on tenterhooks being unsure of participation till almost the eleventh hour.

Manav was able to compete in eight tournaments during the period and aggregated 6452 points whereas Snehit played only five tournaments, including two self-financed, to accumulate 3240 points that helped him attain the No 24 ranking. Nonetheless, this is a stupendous showing when taken under any yardstick as it signifies the talent and the fire within him. The drawback in scheduling his tournaments has been best put forth by B Shiva Shankar, Secretary of Global Table Tennis Academy (GTTA) where Snehit learnt the basics under Somnath Ghosh, which were subsequently fine-tuned by S Raman, under whom he trains presently at Chennai.

"Given the repertoire in his armour, he can improve upon the world ranking. All he needs is government support for training and exposure trips," points out Shiva Shankar, in a matter-of-fact tone. Despite the hardships, Snehit, studying 12th Standard at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Public School (BVBPS) is exuberant.

‘I am absolutely delighted. I never imagined that I would be in the top 25 when my campaign took-off in June. I hope to consolidate my position at the top by rising up the rankings ladder,’ he says on a realistic note. Meanwhile, amid the euphoria, it is back to business for him now.

Snehit will compete in the Junior and Youth National and Inter-State Championships to be held in Durgapur from January 18-23.  Hopefully, the State Government will take note of this gifted paddler, who is a Khammam native, and rises to the occasion as he readies himself for bringing more glory to the nation and the State in the new season.