Poulomi Ghatak overwhelmed with fans' response after her retirement news goes viral

India's ace table tennis player and Arjuna Award winner,

Poulomi Ghatak

, is overwhelmed with the kind of response she got after people came to know that she has been contemplating retirement at the age of 37. Well-wishers and fans poured in a lot of love through social media after the casual mention of retirement plans.


"It is a given that when a cricketer like Dhoni announces his retirement people will shower a lot of love and respect on him. But table tennis has not reached that popularity yet. But I am pleasantly surprised at the response. I was at a video chat with Ranadeb Bose and his last question was 'Will you please clarify to people what's your playing status now' to which I said 'I have not been playing this January this year and thinking of retirement'. This spread like fire," she said.

Many consider her decision as an early one looking at her age. When asked whether she has any plans of revoking the decision looking at the love and support, she said, "I have been playing from 1996. It's been more than 20 years. After my daughter was born in October 2015, I still played in the finals of national tournaments. But the kind of person that I am, I like giving my 100% to all areas of my life. Since playing at the national and international levels involve 10 months of travelling, I thought it's time to step down. I had a one-year-old daughter to look after. But yes, looking at people's love, I have decided that I will make a formal announcement now. My mother also became emotional this morning. She was almost in tears."

So, what next now that she will not be seen on the court? "It feels bad to leave the career I so loved. But not being able to give my 100% will mean disrespecting the profession. But I have some unfulfilled dreams in table tennis. I wanted to win the Olympic medal in table tennis. It's no more impossible now. Asians are dominating the Olympics. Besides, I feel there are a lot of talents in

West Bengal

. They just need some nurturing. My husband

Soumyadeep Roy

, who is also an Arjuna Award winner, and I have already built two coaching centres in Rajdanga and

Jadavpur

. But the lockdown happened in between. We will continue once the situation goes back to normal," she said.