Table Tennis: Deepika, a star in the horizon

At first glance, Deepika is not the aggressive kind. As her coach, A. Srinivas Rao engaged in a rally with the player at the AKG Hall of Table Tennis, it was evident that Deepika’s composure was the key as the rally went on. Her face and body language did not have the belligerence but her aggression was from the paddle. 

Matching stroke to stroke, she got the better of her coach in style with a neat spank down the table. It is the mental strength that makes one make note of Deepika. Her coach concurs. “She is calm and quiet and has immaculate game control. Her mental strength is translated to shots on the table,” Srinivas Rao said. After losing the first state ranking tournament in the lasteight, Deepika had to make it count in the second. 

Ranked third in juniors, she beat V. Kaushika 3-2 in the quarters and accounted for the big fish S. Selena Deepthi 4-1 in the semi-final. In the final, Deepika raced to a 3-1 lead over Yazhini before fluffing the next game but regained her composure to emerge victorious at 4-2.  

The 16-year-old said the semi-final win was sweeter than the final. “Beating Selena was difficult as I am not comfortable with her style. She has a strong defence and I had to modify my game and forced her to attack. I blocked her shots and she wilted under pressure,” Deepika said. 

The 12th standard student of Bentinck Higher Secondary School had a simple game plan in the final. “Even against Yazhini, I started with the push and started blocking her shots. She, being the natural attacker, found the going tough. I just had to put the ball on the table and induced her to commit errors and it worked,” added Deepika. The coach had a simple plan for his ward in the final. “I advised her not to get into counter rallies. 

She had to capitalise on her strengths — good service reception and ability to finish a point in a jiffy and I am glad she was able to do justice,” Srinivas Rao added. According to Srinivas Rao, Deepika’s burst in the national scene is not too far. “She is a pimpled (referring to the rubber on the bat) player and has a good height. 

Her understanding of situations in a game is far superior than her peers. Her national debut is not too far away but to sustain at the top she has to improve in playing long rallies,” the coach, famous for producing internationals like A. Sharath Kamal, K. Shamini etc, added.