Prodigy Preyesh going places in ping pong

All of 11, S Preyesh has ascended to the number one ranking in the U-12 category at both the state and national level. His tone of despondence is hard to ignore when he rues not being the number one in the world rankings. 

“Currently, I’m the state and country’s number one paddler in the U-12 age category. But my immediate priority is to be the world number one,” said Preyesh. Coming from the stable of Arjuna awardee V. Chandrasekhar’s academy, Preyesh credits his upswing in fortunes to his mentor. 

“I’ve been training under his aegis for the last four years. He helped me hone my forehand topspin and service, which were not up to scratch until then. Forehand attack has always been my strong suit but thanks to Chandra sir, I’ve become a more well-rounded player,” added Preyesh. An ardent admirer of the reigning Olympic and world champion Ma Long, Preyesh recently had to overcome the disappointment of finishing second in the Asian U-12 championships in Bangkok. 

“I lost to Iran’s Mohammed Amin in the final. It was a close contest where both of us had a chance to win before he prevailed 11-9 in the deciding game. It was a good learning experience for me on a big stage,” said Preyesh, who cites G Sathiyan as his role model. Preyesh was generous in thanking his family for their unstinting support in all his endeavours. 

“I have the complete backing and encouragement of my family. I started playing this sport for the first time when I was in my second standard. And since then my career progression has been to the satisfaction of all concerned,” remarked Preyesh. 

For the time being, Preyesh is focusing all his energies on the inter-zonal tournament in Dharwad. For someone with such fierce determination, it is only to be expected that Preyesh will stop at nothing in his bid to get the stamp of approval as the world’s best player.