Unique | From damaged Olympics dream to beating Olympian for senior nationwide TT title: The Diya Chitale story | Extra sports activities Information – The Instances of India

NEW DELHI: It was 2023. Practically two years had handed since India achieved its best-ever tally of seven medals on the Olympic Video games in Tokyo. With new information being set and the nation’s requirements in Olympic sports activities raised, Tokyo 2020 ignited a never-seen-before spark amongst aspiring athletes throughout varied disciplines, all desirous to make their mark on the nationwide degree and maybe safe a spot within the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Nonetheless, not everybody acquired the possibility to stay that dream. For budding paddler Diya Chitale, the dream of competing in Paris was shattered by an unexpected foot harm.
“That was the 12 months they had been deciding on gamers for the 2024 Olympic Video games. The crew was going to be finalised. However in October 2023, I suffered a stress fracture in my left foot. Because of this, I couldn’t compete in two nationwide tournaments or the nationwide championships. I used to be not totally match,” Diya tells TimesofIndia.com.
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Quick ahead to January 2025, and Diya Chitale has now develop into a extra mature model of herself. That maturity shone by means of within the closing of the Senior Nationwide Desk Tennis Championships, the place she confronted one in all India’s finest and now an Olympian, Sreeja Akula.

Overcoming a 0-2 deficit, Diya staged a exceptional comeback to make it 4-3, clinching her maiden senior nationwide title on the age of 21.
“Changing into the Senior Nationwide Champion was one in all my desires. I had gained on the U-15, U-18, and U-21 ranges, however by no means within the senior ladies’s class. It was one thing I actually needed to realize,” says the paddler, who’s at present recovering from a shoulder harm.

Desk Tennis: No Longer Only a ‘Pastime’

In contrast to many athletes who start their journey with structured teaching from an early age, Diya’s introduction to desk tennis was unplanned. “It was only a passion,” she admits. “I used to be very lively as a baby, and through household holidays, we’d at all times play desk tennis. I began practising at Khar Gymkhana, however the turning level got here in 2014 once I gained silver on the U-12 Nationwide Championships. That’s when my passion changed into my ardour.”

Preparation was key for the starlet. Alongside together with her coach, Sachin Shetty, she spent months strategising and tailoring her coaching to counter India’s top-ranked gamers.
“We had been actually well-prepared, each when it comes to gameplay and psychological energy,” she recollects. “At a match just like the Nationals, everybody desires to win, however being mentally sturdy is simply as necessary as bodily talent.”
Born right into a household of medical doctors and lecturers, Diya by no means felt the stress of lecturers, because of her supportive mother and father, Reshma and Parag Chitale. “They’ve actually been my pillars of energy,” she shares. “We by no means had discussions about whether or not I ought to pursue sports activities professionally or focus totally on lecturers. No matter choice I made, they at all times supported me. Once I went overseas for long-term coaching, my mother even travelled with me.”

Diya’s faculty, Arya Vidya Mandir, additionally performed an important function in her journey, offering her with the pliability to stability her lecturers with desk tennis. “I used to be fortunate to obtain that assist from my household and everybody round me,” she continues.

‘The Shift within the Indian Mindset’

The rise of desk tennis in India echoes a shift in societal attitudes, in line with Diya. She believes the standard emphasis on lecturers over sports activities is steadily altering.

“Earlier, the main target in India was totally on research and lecturers. However I believe that’s actually altering now. Prior to now few years, many individuals have taken up sports activities professionally and made it a profession. I additionally suppose individuals are actually watching a greater diversity of sports activities past cricket, and different disciplines are getting way more recognition. Take a look at what (PV) Sindhu and Saina (Nehwal) did for badminton. I imagine the identical is going on in desk tennis, with many Indian gamers making their manner into the highest world rankings,” says the Mumbai-born athlete, who just lately accomplished her BBA from Chitkara College.

A Dream of an Olympic Medal

A typical coaching day for Diya is something however atypical. “I observe twice a day — as soon as within the morning and as soon as within the night — with every session lasting round two and a half hours, plus two hours of health coaching,” says Diya, a thriller TV sequence buff who now barely has time to bask in them.
Her routine additionally contains psychological wellness workouts and dealing with a sports activities psychologist to keep up her focus.

Her aggressive enjoying type, powered by the paddle floor of plain rubber, units her aside.
“I’m an attacking participant from each my forehand and backhand. There are lots of, many gamers in India who play with completely different sorts of supplies. I want a plain rubber paddle — no different materials — as a result of it fits my aggressive strategy,” Diya tells TimesofIndia.com.
Whereas mirroring a glimpse of her ambition, she concludes, “My speedy aim is to interrupt into the highest 50 on the earth rankings. In blended doubles, my associate Manush and I are already within the prime 15, and we wish to break into the highest 10 and compete for a medal at main worldwide occasions. However after all, the last word dream is at all times to win a medal for India on the Olympics.”
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