Telangana paddler Satya poised for big leap

Satya Aspathi is currently the State no.1 paddler in under-15, 17 and 19 categories, all at a tender age of 12

Hyderabad: Paddler Satya Aspathi has been the talk of the town in the table tennis fraternity in the State. She is currently the State no.1 paddler in under-15, 17 and 19 categories, all at the age of 12.

Competing in the higher age categories, the youngster is winning titles at ease.

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One of Satya’s latest accomplishments was winning twin titles at the 35th St Paul’s Annual Telangana State Ranking Inter-School Table Tennis Tournament in Hyderabad recently. The youngster trains at GSM Table Tennis Academy in Hyderabad where noted paddlers Nikhat Banu and Varuni Jaiswal also train.

Hailing from SBI colony Gandhinagar, Satya bagged her first national medal this year securing third position in the under-13 category at the National Championship in Alappuzha, Kerala. Barring once in the under-19 category, she emerged winner in the five State championship events in under-13, U-15, U-17 and U-19 girls categories last year.

Satya, who studies in Pallavi Model School Boduppal in Class VII, started training in GSM in 2018 because of her older brother Arjun Narayan Aspathi who was already enrolled in the academy at the time and played the sport until 2020. “Satya used to watch her brother play closely and we gradually introduced her to the sport five years back,” revealed Satya’s mother Aparna Devi Aspathi. The talented youngster, who trains four hours each in the morning and evening at the academy under the watchful eyes of coach M Venugopal and M Chaithanya, dreams of representing India one day.

According to coach Venugopal, Satya has keen observation and is quick in picking up things. “She is a very good listener and observer who carefully watches and studies her opponents. She also picks up things quickly,” he added.

With Satya dominating at the State level championships, the academy is putting efforts to make her national champion very soon, chalking special fitness regimens and mental training programmes. “The academy is looking into her physical fitness alongside mental training, with online sessions being conducted with a professional mental trainer,” he concluded.