good morning it’s actually nice to be
here with such a diversity in different
fields well coming to my own story I
started playing the sport at a very
young age of four I couldn’t even reach
the table so my coach my father my uncle
they used to carry me and I used to hit
the ball so that was how I started
playing the sport and as a youngster I
was good at the state level but never
good at the national level so I was like
state number one I represented Tamilnadu
stay there was state number one but at
the national level I was I was really in
nobody probably 20 or 25 in the national
ranking so but I liked playing the sport
and I think the most important part in
my career the transformation came when I
had to decide in my ten standard if I
take up engineering in my eleventh
science and engineering or Commerce and
table tennis well my mother wanted me
you know the typical side engineering
yeah science engineering in the u.s.
because all my cousins were doing that
so peer pressure was very high but yeah
I personally decided that I wanted to
play the sport so my father was very
happy so at least there’s one who is on
my side so my father was very happy my
mother yes of course even though she
wanted me to go or the other side but
once I decided that I’ll be a
professional in table tennis she
supported me you know as as as any
parent to do so I started doing my yeah
lemon standard from 1100 onwards
Matan ins went low on school and college
I was more in the training hall I’d
spent like almost 12 hours you know
doing the sport aid up in the gym or
playing table tennis or having you know
requite rest I needed so from my ten
standard which is basically I was
fourteen fifteen years old until I was
19 20 those years I worked very very
hard but there were no results coming in
at that point of time I was still the
best in the state
but not getting my foot into the
national level but things changed by
2002 when I was first called in for the
night a senior national training camp so
2002 I went in for my first camp by the
end of 2002 I became the number four in
the country I played my first senior
national final Oh any national final
that was my first national final and by
2003 I won the international
championships I was number one in India
think the years of work what I put in
the five years you know they were being
transformed there so by 2004 2003 I
became the best in the country by 2004 I
represented India at the Olympic Games
in Athens I became the first Indian to
win a Commonwealth medal in Colin impor
so things that on a roll things were
going really good but that was where you
know I I hit a block there I was good in
the country I wanted to be better in the
international level so I had to move
into Europe which no not many had done
before prior to me because it’s very
high investment and you don’t know what
is the written but sport by and large is
the same game you’re playing there is no
return on investment if you don’t make
it big you don’t you don’t get back
anything but then thanks to my family
support I could you know invest two
years in Europe spend all my father’s
savings so and I slowly started becoming
good it in international level and by
2006 at the Cornell Games in Melbourne
we want two gold medals I won the
singles and I won the team and that
Colonel Games was what shot me to fame
well that the ID there that created
Sherrod come on the guy with the long
hair and the bandanna still what people
relate to even though I went bald two
months ago people are still asking about
the long hair at Rabaul balls absolute
zero it’s all falling off there it’s not
you know I’m getting old so so from
there I went on to win five national
titles I in total I had won by 20 then I
had won six national titles and 2010
carnal games won another gold medal in
the men’s doubles partnering so visa so
things were like you know I was I was
getting better and better with every
year and by 2007 I broke the top 100
mark and by 2010 I won a couple of
international tournaments becoming the
first Indian to do so and broke into the
top 50 I was 39 in the world so from
there you know I could I was hoping that
I’ll go ahead and the main aim was the
London Olympic Games where I wanted to
do well but I think destiny had other
plans for me
oh I got married no that’s yeah we moved
into I moved into Europe I’ve been
living if since 2004 I’ve been living I
was based out of Europe playing the
league’s there visiting India visiting
home once in a while so by 2000 I got
married 2010 we had 20 2010 I moved with
my wife into Europe and 2011 we had a
kid so personally there were some
changes in my life and professionally
the lot of changes in the game so 2011 I
hit the lowest of low on my career I
went down to 94 in the world ranking
which I don’t think I was ever there
since 2007 until now that’s been my in
the last 11 years that’s been the lowest
of the world rankings I’ve had I started
losing on the indian national
tournaments i didn’t qualify for the Rio
Olympic Games which was the main goal
you know for for like 4 4 to 5 years so
I didn’t know which way to go you know
which direction to go where do I solve
the problems so then I hired a coach
personal coach who take care of me
because the coach is very very important
in in our profession and I think also in
Europe in anybody’s life I think if
somebody is helping you in the direction
you want to go it makes things easier so
I signed up with the coach and I was
trying to practice more more number of
hours in the in the gym in the table
tennis court but at the same time I
needed enough energy and focus on my
family because you know we were we were
living there
we had no external support as far as
family support so it was only me or my
wife who had to take care of my daughter
so there I think my wife she she
understood that I was not able to
balance the whole thing properly so she
said look I know that 2016 you missed
out on the 2012 Olympic Games so I know
that 2016 is a very important
you know milestone in your career so I
will go back to my mother’s place I’ll
take care of the kid do you don’t worry
about us
you just concentrate on your game and
keep the focus on 2016 but once 2016 is
done pack your bags
well men being men we don’t follow the
deals hi hey I’m still playing on so she
moved back you know then it was it was
quite hard for me staying away from
family still practicing and you know
going ahead with the with the plans but
then slowly I could see progress coming
back in by 2013 I was close to the top
60s and by 2014 that is after four years
I broke the top 50 once again so it took
me four years to come out of the patch
bad patch
but because the this is I’m saying this
because most of then most of us we know
only the glory side of a sports person
we don’t know the difficulties what
going through the sacrifices and the
difficulties what goes in through half
that kind of success so by 2014 I came
back you know slowly getting back on the
on track and things were rolling things
were getting moving as expected and I
was thinking if I can keep the kind of
shape I was having I’ll keep the kind of
form I was having 2016 is is a very good
chance where if not a medal I could at
least make it to the quarter-final or to
the last 16 because the best performance
India has had is the round of round of
32 which I played in 2008 so no then I I
was playing one of my best table tennis
in 2015 I in a tournament in an Asia Cup
which was happening in Jaipur I beat
three top 24 top 20 players in a span of
24 hours so that helped me raise to my
career best ranking of 38 at that point
of time and then and a month later I was
at the World Championships in China and
I was playing well number 20
I was ahead three game signal out of a
best-of sentence I just need one more
game to win that match and three games
to nil in the middle of the fourth set I
had I heard a snap and I couldn’t walk
anymore
there was like shooting pain in my
hamstrings so the doctor came and we
were just having a check and the doctor
could figure out that I had tone one of
my muscles so later on in the MRI scan
we found out that I had tore my
hamstring muscle from my hip bone for
nearly 12 centimeters so that’s a very
big cut I couldn’t walk so the doctor
during the match then the doctor said
it’s better you give up now
I said I’m so close to him just give me
you know one more chance one small
chance let me try and play try and play
to win the match the doctor said you
have the risk of tearing it further down
which can disable your whole leg I said
just give me a small chance because I’m
so close and there I want to get this
done
so he said okay fine if you feel pain at
any point of time you need to stop so
then with one leg limping on the other
leg I continued to play the first couple
of points I want because the opponent
was still thinking that I’m injured and
I can’t move so I used up you know a
little bit of that momentum but then
that said I lost I lost the fourth set
then the doctor came up and said ok now
do we stop I said just give me one last
set if you don’t if I don’t win the set
I will come out just one last set and
then I put all in on that on that set I
just did everything possible to win that
set I won that set came out I was taken
out on a stretcher I couldn’t walk took
the flight by I had very tough time
sitting on a flight from China to
Germany it was a long flight went back
did the MRI scan the doctor said I had
to get it operated so once the operation
was done I was four weeks on on a
wheelchair
two and a half weeks on crutches and it
nearly took me six months to get back on
track and this is happening in 2015 May
and 2016 August is the Olympic Games so
as and I didn’t know also after the
operation and also after rehab
everything I didn’t know if I can come
back to play again so all the sacrifices
done for the whole entire carrier was on
you know what’s going blank I didn’t
know what whoa what I was going to do
there were a lot of days when I was
depressed completely I didn’t want to go
to rehab I didn’t want to start playing
table tennis because I didn’t know if I
will able if I was able to make it there
but then slowly and steadily by by the
end of the year by number I started
playing a little bit and then slowly
started recovering and things where we
were moving very very slowly until then
and then the qualification process came
up in April 2016 that’s exactly like one
year after the injury happened and
normally at my my level I should qualify
because I are already qualified for two
Olympic Games and the qualification
process my let my at my level should
should have been a cakewalk but then at
that point of time with my current shape
and my form I was not sure of what would
happen and I still remember the night of
the last day of the qualification there
it was there were two days the first two
days were the preliminary rounds and the
third day was when I actually could
qualify for the Olympic Games that night
was a nightmare
my heart is beating at close to 200
beats per second whoever beats per
minute when I’m sleeping on my stomach
I’m not able to sleep because the heart
is beating so fast then when I turn
around and sleep I’m not able to sleep
I’m not able to do anything I’m not able
to get myself calm
but still the next morning with lack of
sleep and you know so much anxiety and
nervousness SIL I went on to beat a
player whom I’ve never lost to before
that or after that who’s like close to
100 places behind me in the world
ranking with the four games to three
very very close much so once I qualified
for that then it was like okay at least
and there the 2016 Olympic Games but
things change you know the color the the
perseverance which which went through
through the whole process there that
helped me that is helping me to continue
on with my career until now so 2016 that
you know I qualified for the Olympic
Games and that year again after a gap of
five to six years I won the Indian
national championships for the seventh
time and then slowly things moyer
started moving up and then 2017 was a
fantastic year for the whole of Indian
table tennis not just me all of us
started playing very well and then 2018
came up with the kernel games and the
Asian Games so the kernel games was in
April so 2014 we only I we the Indian
team got only a silver medal where in 26
2006 and 2010 we got gold medals so we
wanted to win back the gold there so 26
2018 we we won the men’s team gold and
men doubles I got the silver and then
the men’s singles was happening towards
the end because the tournament is pretty
long the carnal games the table tennis
even goes on for almost like 14 to 15
days so to keep the mental pressure on
for such a long period is very very hard
so we finished the Team Championships I
finished the doubles and coming to the
singles you know I was pretty punchy
tired and it was the last day the last
match it was my bronze medal match the
coach came up to me and the only thing
he said
you know it’s don’t play this match for
yourself or don’t play this match for me
you can see there are so many people in
India who want you to win this middle
and it is for them you need to win the
middle and that gave me an extra energy
of you know extra motivational push
which actually helped me win that medal
and when I was standing on that podium
even though I didn’t win the gold that
they still devarti is coming up you know
from their eyes so the kind of
sacrifices we put in through and the
kind of hard hard work we put in through
that is the moment when the whole group
that is the moment when we feel
cherished when the whole country is
behind us cheering for us so thank you
very much for your audience and I hope
all of you enjoyed my story [Applause]
here with such a diversity in different
fields well coming to my own story I
started playing the sport at a very
young age of four I couldn’t even reach
the table so my coach my father my uncle
they used to carry me and I used to hit
the ball so that was how I started
playing the sport and as a youngster I
was good at the state level but never
good at the national level so I was like
state number one I represented Tamilnadu
stay there was state number one but at
the national level I was I was really in
nobody probably 20 or 25 in the national
ranking so but I liked playing the sport
and I think the most important part in
my career the transformation came when I
had to decide in my ten standard if I
take up engineering in my eleventh
science and engineering or Commerce and
table tennis well my mother wanted me
you know the typical side engineering
yeah science engineering in the u.s.
because all my cousins were doing that
so peer pressure was very high but yeah
I personally decided that I wanted to
play the sport so my father was very
happy so at least there’s one who is on
my side so my father was very happy my
mother yes of course even though she
wanted me to go or the other side but
once I decided that I’ll be a
professional in table tennis she
supported me you know as as as any
parent to do so I started doing my yeah
lemon standard from 1100 onwards
Matan ins went low on school and college
I was more in the training hall I’d
spent like almost 12 hours you know
doing the sport aid up in the gym or
playing table tennis or having you know
requite rest I needed so from my ten
standard which is basically I was
fourteen fifteen years old until I was
19 20 those years I worked very very
hard but there were no results coming in
at that point of time I was still the
best in the state
but not getting my foot into the
national level but things changed by
2002 when I was first called in for the
night a senior national training camp so
2002 I went in for my first camp by the
end of 2002 I became the number four in
the country I played my first senior
national final Oh any national final
that was my first national final and by
2003 I won the international
championships I was number one in India
think the years of work what I put in
the five years you know they were being
transformed there so by 2004 2003 I
became the best in the country by 2004 I
represented India at the Olympic Games
in Athens I became the first Indian to
win a Commonwealth medal in Colin impor
so things that on a roll things were
going really good but that was where you
know I I hit a block there I was good in
the country I wanted to be better in the
international level so I had to move
into Europe which no not many had done
before prior to me because it’s very
high investment and you don’t know what
is the written but sport by and large is
the same game you’re playing there is no
return on investment if you don’t make
it big you don’t you don’t get back
anything but then thanks to my family
support I could you know invest two
years in Europe spend all my father’s
savings so and I slowly started becoming
good it in international level and by
2006 at the Cornell Games in Melbourne
we want two gold medals I won the
singles and I won the team and that
Colonel Games was what shot me to fame
well that the ID there that created
Sherrod come on the guy with the long
hair and the bandanna still what people
relate to even though I went bald two
months ago people are still asking about
the long hair at Rabaul balls absolute
zero it’s all falling off there it’s not
you know I’m getting old so so from
there I went on to win five national
titles I in total I had won by 20 then I
had won six national titles and 2010
carnal games won another gold medal in
the men’s doubles partnering so visa so
things were like you know I was I was
getting better and better with every
year and by 2007 I broke the top 100
mark and by 2010 I won a couple of
international tournaments becoming the
first Indian to do so and broke into the
top 50 I was 39 in the world so from
there you know I could I was hoping that
I’ll go ahead and the main aim was the
London Olympic Games where I wanted to
do well but I think destiny had other
plans for me
oh I got married no that’s yeah we moved
into I moved into Europe I’ve been
living if since 2004 I’ve been living I
was based out of Europe playing the
league’s there visiting India visiting
home once in a while so by 2000 I got
married 2010 we had 20 2010 I moved with
my wife into Europe and 2011 we had a
kid so personally there were some
changes in my life and professionally
the lot of changes in the game so 2011 I
hit the lowest of low on my career I
went down to 94 in the world ranking
which I don’t think I was ever there
since 2007 until now that’s been my in
the last 11 years that’s been the lowest
of the world rankings I’ve had I started
losing on the indian national
tournaments i didn’t qualify for the Rio
Olympic Games which was the main goal
you know for for like 4 4 to 5 years so
I didn’t know which way to go you know
which direction to go where do I solve
the problems so then I hired a coach
personal coach who take care of me
because the coach is very very important
in in our profession and I think also in
Europe in anybody’s life I think if
somebody is helping you in the direction
you want to go it makes things easier so
I signed up with the coach and I was
trying to practice more more number of
hours in the in the gym in the table
tennis court but at the same time I
needed enough energy and focus on my
family because you know we were we were
living there
we had no external support as far as
family support so it was only me or my
wife who had to take care of my daughter
so there I think my wife she she
understood that I was not able to
balance the whole thing properly so she
said look I know that 2016 you missed
out on the 2012 Olympic Games so I know
that 2016 is a very important
you know milestone in your career so I
will go back to my mother’s place I’ll
take care of the kid do you don’t worry
about us
you just concentrate on your game and
keep the focus on 2016 but once 2016 is
done pack your bags
well men being men we don’t follow the
deals hi hey I’m still playing on so she
moved back you know then it was it was
quite hard for me staying away from
family still practicing and you know
going ahead with the with the plans but
then slowly I could see progress coming
back in by 2013 I was close to the top
60s and by 2014 that is after four years
I broke the top 50 once again so it took
me four years to come out of the patch
bad patch
but because the this is I’m saying this
because most of then most of us we know
only the glory side of a sports person
we don’t know the difficulties what
going through the sacrifices and the
difficulties what goes in through half
that kind of success so by 2014 I came
back you know slowly getting back on the
on track and things were rolling things
were getting moving as expected and I
was thinking if I can keep the kind of
shape I was having I’ll keep the kind of
form I was having 2016 is is a very good
chance where if not a medal I could at
least make it to the quarter-final or to
the last 16 because the best performance
India has had is the round of round of
32 which I played in 2008 so no then I I
was playing one of my best table tennis
in 2015 I in a tournament in an Asia Cup
which was happening in Jaipur I beat
three top 24 top 20 players in a span of
24 hours so that helped me raise to my
career best ranking of 38 at that point
of time and then and a month later I was
at the World Championships in China and
I was playing well number 20
I was ahead three game signal out of a
best-of sentence I just need one more
game to win that match and three games
to nil in the middle of the fourth set I
had I heard a snap and I couldn’t walk
anymore
there was like shooting pain in my
hamstrings so the doctor came and we
were just having a check and the doctor
could figure out that I had tone one of
my muscles so later on in the MRI scan
we found out that I had tore my
hamstring muscle from my hip bone for
nearly 12 centimeters so that’s a very
big cut I couldn’t walk so the doctor
during the match then the doctor said
it’s better you give up now
I said I’m so close to him just give me
you know one more chance one small
chance let me try and play try and play
to win the match the doctor said you
have the risk of tearing it further down
which can disable your whole leg I said
just give me a small chance because I’m
so close and there I want to get this
done
so he said okay fine if you feel pain at
any point of time you need to stop so
then with one leg limping on the other
leg I continued to play the first couple
of points I want because the opponent
was still thinking that I’m injured and
I can’t move so I used up you know a
little bit of that momentum but then
that said I lost I lost the fourth set
then the doctor came up and said ok now
do we stop I said just give me one last
set if you don’t if I don’t win the set
I will come out just one last set and
then I put all in on that on that set I
just did everything possible to win that
set I won that set came out I was taken
out on a stretcher I couldn’t walk took
the flight by I had very tough time
sitting on a flight from China to
Germany it was a long flight went back
did the MRI scan the doctor said I had
to get it operated so once the operation
was done I was four weeks on on a
wheelchair
two and a half weeks on crutches and it
nearly took me six months to get back on
track and this is happening in 2015 May
and 2016 August is the Olympic Games so
as and I didn’t know also after the
operation and also after rehab
everything I didn’t know if I can come
back to play again so all the sacrifices
done for the whole entire carrier was on
you know what’s going blank I didn’t
know what whoa what I was going to do
there were a lot of days when I was
depressed completely I didn’t want to go
to rehab I didn’t want to start playing
table tennis because I didn’t know if I
will able if I was able to make it there
but then slowly and steadily by by the
end of the year by number I started
playing a little bit and then slowly
started recovering and things where we
were moving very very slowly until then
and then the qualification process came
up in April 2016 that’s exactly like one
year after the injury happened and
normally at my my level I should qualify
because I are already qualified for two
Olympic Games and the qualification
process my let my at my level should
should have been a cakewalk but then at
that point of time with my current shape
and my form I was not sure of what would
happen and I still remember the night of
the last day of the qualification there
it was there were two days the first two
days were the preliminary rounds and the
third day was when I actually could
qualify for the Olympic Games that night
was a nightmare
my heart is beating at close to 200
beats per second whoever beats per
minute when I’m sleeping on my stomach
I’m not able to sleep because the heart
is beating so fast then when I turn
around and sleep I’m not able to sleep
I’m not able to do anything I’m not able
to get myself calm
but still the next morning with lack of
sleep and you know so much anxiety and
nervousness SIL I went on to beat a
player whom I’ve never lost to before
that or after that who’s like close to
100 places behind me in the world
ranking with the four games to three
very very close much so once I qualified
for that then it was like okay at least
and there the 2016 Olympic Games but
things change you know the color the the
perseverance which which went through
through the whole process there that
helped me that is helping me to continue
on with my career until now so 2016 that
you know I qualified for the Olympic
Games and that year again after a gap of
five to six years I won the Indian
national championships for the seventh
time and then slowly things moyer
started moving up and then 2017 was a
fantastic year for the whole of Indian
table tennis not just me all of us
started playing very well and then 2018
came up with the kernel games and the
Asian Games so the kernel games was in
April so 2014 we only I we the Indian
team got only a silver medal where in 26
2006 and 2010 we got gold medals so we
wanted to win back the gold there so 26
2018 we we won the men’s team gold and
men doubles I got the silver and then
the men’s singles was happening towards
the end because the tournament is pretty
long the carnal games the table tennis
even goes on for almost like 14 to 15
days so to keep the mental pressure on
for such a long period is very very hard
so we finished the Team Championships I
finished the doubles and coming to the
singles you know I was pretty punchy
tired and it was the last day the last
match it was my bronze medal match the
coach came up to me and the only thing
he said
you know it’s don’t play this match for
yourself or don’t play this match for me
you can see there are so many people in
India who want you to win this middle
and it is for them you need to win the
middle and that gave me an extra energy
of you know extra motivational push
which actually helped me win that medal
and when I was standing on that podium
even though I didn’t win the gold that
they still devarti is coming up you know
from their eyes so the kind of
sacrifices we put in through and the
kind of hard hard work we put in through
that is the moment when the whole group
that is the moment when we feel
cherished when the whole country is
behind us cheering for us so thank you
very much for your audience and I hope
all of you enjoyed my story [Applause]
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