Ultimate Table Tennis: Hyderabad’s TT player Snehit thrilled to be part of season 4

Youngster, who represents Puneri Paltans, aims to improve ranking ahead of Asian Games

Hyderabad: Hyderabad table tennis player S Fidel R Snehit is over the moon after being picked up by Puneri Paltans team for the upcoming Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 4.

The youngster was eager to take part in the league since its inception. He finally realised his dream after the Players’ Draft recently and he is excited to showcase his skills in the league.

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The former youth national champion missed the opportunity as the league was on hold for the last three years owing to Covid-19 pandemic. “I am very happy that I got picked for the new season. I was part of the draft in previous seasons but could not find a team. I was a bit nervous before the draft though I had the confidence that I would get picked. It is a very good opportunity,” said the India no.8 player.

Snehit has the experience of playing in leagues in Europe but he feels that UTT is more challenging. “UTT is a short league and a very qualitative event. The level is very high with many foreign players competing in it. And since this is happening in India, we will get good spotlight. Our team looks good. We have good Indian and foreign players. Manush Shah is a very good player while Archana Kamath has been playing in the league since its inception,” he added.

Speaking on his goals this year, the talented paddler said he is keen to improve his national and world ranking and racing against time to make it to the India team for the upcoming Asian Games. “Only top 5 ranked players in India will get selected for the Asian Games. So my immediate goal is to improve my rankings by playing well in national and international tournaments. My current world ranking is 166. My target is to be among the top 100. I am going to play some international tournaments like in Nigeria after the national ranking tournaments in Hyderabad. I still hope I can be part of the team for the Asian Games. But I have a very few tournaments to prove myself to get into the national team,” he revealed.

The paddler had a five-week training stint in Saarbrucken, Germany recently before the national camp. “The academy has top players. I get to spar with them and there are a group of coaches. It improved my game a lot,” he concluded.