Diya Chitale overcomes setbacks to become India’s top woman paddler

NEW DELHI: Diya Chitale, the reigning singles queen of Indian table tennis, has defied expectations despite standing at 4 feet 11 inches. Known for her lethal, relentless, determined and focused gameplay, Diya did not allow her height to define her personality or achievements. Her dreams and aspirations surpassed her short stature, making her a formidable presence both on and off the table. The 22-year-old is steadily progressing towards another women’s singles final at the ongoing Nationals here. On Wednesday afternoon, the top seed advanced after her pre-quarterfinal match was stretched to five games by Assam’s Trisha Gogoi. Diya’s rise as a formidable singles player has been impressive, particularly following the disappointment of missing out on the Paris Olympics due to an unforeseen foot injury last year. “It was tough. I worked hard the entire season to make the Indian contingent for the Paris Games. But I suffered a foot injury, and it took time to recover. I had started the year well, but then the injury happened. I was forced to skip two national ranking tournaments. Following my rehabilitation, I wasn’t able to play to the best of my abilities. The losses made me doubt myself. I missed out on the Olympic qualification by just one position. I was fifth in the India ranking charts and the top four singles players went to Paris. I was disheartened. But then I regrouped myself, fought back from the brink and, today, I am the No.1 women’s singles player in the country,” Diya told TOI in an interview. The turnaround for the Mumbai girl came at the Nationals in Surat last year when she defeated top woman paddler and Olympian Sreeja Akula in a nerve-wracking final. “I was 0-2 down but made a strong comeback to win 4-3 and secure my maiden senior Nationals title. It was a big win and that helped me find my footing again. I was desperately searching for that title to regain my lost confidence,” said World No. 88 in the women’s singles. Diya also recalled a similar low phase in her career in 2019 while climbing the seniors' ladder. “In 2019, I was playing in the under-18 category. I was losing in the initial rounds of tournaments that I competed in. Even at the age-group Nationals, I lost early and was upset. Then, I brought some changes to my game, sat with my team of coaches and support staff and figured out the reasons. It helped and, the same year, I won both the under-18 and under-21 singles titles. I started from the qualification rounds and reached the finals. That was one big achievement,” she said. Diya idolises Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu, two of India’s most successful female badminton players, and aspires to achieve similar success as Timo Boll, the most accomplished German table tennis player of all time, having won several medals at Olympics, World Championships, and World Cups. “I like what Saina and Sindhu have done for Indian badminton. I wish to do the same for the country’s table tennis. In badminton, the sport was dominated by Asian and other countries. They broke the myth that the Indians can’t be at the top. Once they were able to do that, the entire mindset changed. Now everyone expects a medal in badminton at the Olympics or Asian Games. I want to do something similar in table tennis. I want to win medals for India at the major multisport events,” she said. Diya’s factfile: International ranking (women's singles): 88 International ranking (mixed doubles with Manush Shah): 5 National ranking (women's singles): 1 Diya, combining with Manush in mixed doubles, recently made history by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to reach the final of a WTT Star Contender event, finishing runners-up at the Foz do Iguaçu 2025 in Brazil. WTT Youth Contender Lima: Under-19 gold (singles) WTT Contender Zagreb: Semifinal (women's doubles) WTT Feeder Beirut: silver (women's doubles)