Paddler Soumyajit looks to Federer, Sachin for inspiration

NEW DELHI: Promising paddler Soumyajit Ghosh is different from the band of boys his age. For starters, the 18-year-old hates Harry Potter and considers it "time pass" stuff. "Those things are not for me. I really don't like them," India's top junior player told TOI while working on his top spins just before a singles game in the Asian Junior Table-Tennis Championship.
Ghosh comes across as a determined and extremely talented player from Siliguri in north Bengal. He talks straight and to the point, whether it is about the Chinese brand of training methodology or himself. "I'm a happy-go-lucky type and I hate this easy-going attitude in me. I want to be more serious in my game. That's the reason I look up to my heroes (Roger) Federer and Sachin (Tendulkar), because of their passion and focus which I lack. I know I can achieve it. But I will have to put in more hard work and energy," Ghosh added.
While most paddlers follow the Chinese style of training, the Siliguri-born paddler felt that "there is nothing great about them". He says: "I don't like the Chinese method. I would rather mould myself in the European style, which suits us. The Chinese have the physique and a little bit of technique. That's it. I feel that we don't lack much. Personally, I don't have a good physique and that's the reason I lost the game against my Chinese opponent in the semis on Friday," he explained.
Ghosh's talent was spotted early. The strength in his game is poise and anticipation. He is at the ball quickly, which makes it possible to catch the ball earlier and place it better and also hit harder than normal. Last year, he teamed up with NG wing Nam of Hong Kong to win the mixed doubles bronze at the event in Bratislava in Slovak Republic to become the first Indian to clinch a medal in the World Junior Championship.
No less an authority than India's table-tennis star Sharath Kamal predicted great things for this junior, who now ranks World No. 24. Interestingly, It was only after winning a district title in 2000 that Ghosh became serious. "Till then I didn't know about the game," he said, smiling.