How do i start my table tennis career in india

[Advay]

In India taking sport as career is not considered good for our future. I am not that good player .But I know that if I go down the professional route I will cause some real damage to my competition. There are alot of problems like to convince my parents ,where should I start playing professionally and from which coach should I learn?
I want to know everything regarding mental and physical table tennis,physical fitness and I am ready to do everything. Just give me chance and I will be honoured if someone can call me regarding this

Please help 🙏

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

In India taking sport as career is not considered good for our future. I am not that good player .But I know that if I go down the professional route I will cause some real damage to my competition. There are alot of problems like to convince my parents ,where should I start playing professionally and from which coach should I learn?
I want to know everything regarding mental and physical table tennis,physical fitness and I am ready to do everything. Just give me chance and I will be honoured if someone can call me regarding this

Please help 🙏

How old are you?

How long have you been playing TT?

What is your current training schedule like?

Is your goal to make a living and support yourself playing table tennis? Or is your goal to get as good as you can without caring about money?

 

[Advay]

I am 14 .
Which may seem small but I have to start now to make a living out of it

I have been playing for 1 year

My goal is to support my self playing and make a living

 

[rpb23]

I am 14 .
Which may seem small but I have to start now to make a living out of it

I have been playing for 1 year

My goal is to support my self playing and make a living

Unless you are ultra talented and ultra motivated, it's a little too late to go pro route.

 

[Advay]

I am currently in injury and will joining after a week.
I play for 3 hours a day.
Please help me make the comeback.

 

[Advay]

Unless you are ultra talented and ultra motivated, it's a little too late to go pro route.

Please trust me I can do it

 

[Advay]

How old are you?

How long have you been playing TT?

What is your current training schedule like?

Is your goal to make a living and support yourself playing table tennis? Or is your goal to get as good as you can without caring about money?

I am 14 .
Which may seem small but I have to start now to make a living out of it

I have been playing for 1 year

My goal is to support my self playing and make a living

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Most guys who are pros start being trained at the age of 6. Just so you know.

If you are able to beat adult players in the top 50 in your country at the current moment, you do have a chance. But you would probably have to be training with a professional TEAM of coaches 6 hours a day, 5-6 days a week as of right now, if you wanted to have any chance of being good enough to make reasonable money playing TT.

Outside of the top 50 in the world, players don't make real money playing TT. Outside of the top 2-4 in India, players don't make real money.

You should at least have an idea of what you want to embark on. But, usually, by 14, it is too late. Not always. But you would probably need to be putting 75,000$ to 300,000$ a year into your training to be able to get good enough. So, the cost to success scenario is not great.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I have coached an indian junior player, so I am probably qualified to answer here.

if you started at 13, then there is no ways you can make the indian national team. the indian team is very strong.
try changing nationalities to a weaker table tennis country.

if you stay in india, what must you do?
1) join a table tennis academy, there are hundreds if not thousands of them. You should know where to look or who to ask. If you don't know, then you not in the professional group.
2) once you join, see if you can actually get in. If you are not strong enough, they probably won't want you. Here they train 6 to 7 hours a day, 6 days a week.
3) once you can cope with 2, now know, if you not top 1 or 2 in the academy in your age group, you will struggle, because there are hundreds to thousands of academy in across india. how do you know if you are good? represent your club to play state tournaments
4) then if you are good in state tournaments, you will represent your state to play national tournaments
5) and only then, you might have a spot low down the indian junior team, and you need to work your way up.

You probably need to move to China, Japan or Taiwan and train fully time to try and catch up.
But the odds are low, because Indian level is very high.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

I know what I am talking about when it comes to this topic:

I know this isn't the answer you want to hear or maybe don't want to accept, but it isn't going to happen. You are 14. If you aren't already on the national junior team of India by this age or at a minimum the cadet team it isn't going to happen. And based on your original post you clearly aren't and sound like you are a beginner. And even if you were on the junior or cadet team it probably still wouldn't happen.

Here is a video of some current top 14 year olds in the world. Do you look anything like these players when you play? Keep in mind that even these players have a very long road to becoming a pro, and most top U15 players we see make appearances at the world level eventually end up in obscurity and retirement.

And of all the players at your current level which I assume to be a beginner, maybe less than 0.001% end up looking like what you see in this video even with all the best training resources and parental and financial support.

In fact, it would even be a miracle if starting at 14 you could end up half as good as these guys, who still are far off from becoming a career professional.

Sorry. But it is better to come to terms with reality sooner rather than later.

 

[Advay]

Most guys who are pros start being trained at the age of 6. Just so you know.

If you are able to beat adult players in the top 50 in your country at the current moment, you do have a chance. But you would probably have to be training with a professional TEAM of coaches 6 hours a day, 5-6 days a week as of right now, if you wanted to have any chance of being good enough to make reasonable money playing TT.

Outside of the top 50 in the world, players don't make real money playing TT. Outside of the top 2-4 in India, players don't make real money.

You should at least have an idea of what you want to embark on. But, usually, by 14, it is too late. Not always. But you would probably need to be putting 75,000$ to 300,000$ a year into your training to be able to get good enough. So, the cost to success scenario is not great.

Then how did Sharad kamal started at he age of 15 ?
Can you tell me his journey?
From What I have heard he didn't have that much money

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Then how did Sharad kamal started at he age of 15 ?
Can you tell me his journey?
From What I have heard he didn't have that much money

This is just from a summary search:

==
"Achanta Sharath Kamal was four years old when he was introduced to table tennis by his father, Achanta Srinivasa Rao. His father and uncle, Muralidhar Rao, were both state-level players and national-level coaches who taught Sharath the game.

Sharath began his professional career at age 16 and has had a successful career in table tennis. Some of his accomplishments include:

Winning the national table tennis championship 10 times

Being the first Indian to win an ITTF Pro Tour title

Winning a singles gold medal at the Commonwealth Games

Participating in four Olympic Games

Winning two Asian Games medals "
==

Perhaps you misunderstood turning pro at 16 to be starting that late. But having a father and an uncle who were both state level players and starting at 4 is very different than starting at 15.

Hopefully this is helpful to you.

 

[Advay]

Exactly. He started his career at 16.
But why can't I?

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Also, feel free to look here:

Sharath Kamal - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

That gives a fairly full history.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

Then how did Sharad kamal started at he age of 15 ?
Can you tell me his journey?
From What I have heard he didn't have that much money

Sharath Kamal Achanta Interview

Tell us something about your childhood, your first coaching academy also how Table Tennis started?

I started playing at the age of 4, my father Mr A.Srinivas Rao and uncle Mr A.Muralidhar Rao were already coaching lots of National and International Champions by that time and they used to take me to that club. I used to play with elder kids but then I always had lot of interest in playing this sport and then I started playing om an everyday basis and started competing at the age of 7 or 8 in the State level tournament. By the time I reached 11th class, which is I was 14 or 15 years old, I wanted to turn professional and that’s how I turned professional.

I have never played for India in junior levels, have never been in team. 1st time I played for India at age of 20 and I became International Champion at the age of 21.

Things may have been different in India nearly 30 years ago when Achanta was that age. But the fact remains he had been training and playing daily by the age of 7/8 according to him, and was competing at the "State level" by age 7/8. I am not sure what "11th class" means but apparently that's what he was at when he was 14/15 (your age now). And I am guessing that refers to a high level otherwise it wouldn't have been an option for him to turn professional as no professional club or coach would have taken him on.

Keep in mind that Achanta trailblazed Indian table tennis so it is likely much more competitive now than it was 30 years ago when he was your age.

Are you winning state level tournaments or being moderately competitive at national level tournaments in your age group?

 

[Advay]

Sharath Kamal Achanta Interview

Tell us something about your childhood, your first coaching academy also how Table Tennis started?

I started playing at the age of 4, my father Mr A.Srinivas Rao and uncle Mr A.Muralidhar Rao were already coaching lots of National and International Champions by that time and they used to take me to that club. I used to play with elder kids but then I always had lot of interest in playing this sport and then I started playing om an everyday basis and started competing at the age of 7 or 8 in the State level tournament. By the time I reached 11th class, which is I was 14 or 15 years old, I wanted to turn professional and that’s how I turned professional.

I have never played for India in junior levels, have never been in team. 1st time I played for India at age of 20 and I became International Champion at the age of 21.

Things may have been different in India nearly 30 years ago when Achanta was that age. But the fact remains he had been training and playing daily by the age of 7/8 according to him, and was competing at the "State level" by age 7/8. I am not sure what "11th class" means but apparently that's what he was at when he was 14/15 (your age now). And I am guessing that refers to a high level otherwise it wouldn't have been an option for him to turn professional as no professional club or coach would have taken him on.

Keep in mind that Achanta trailblazed Indian table tennis so it is likely much more competitive now than it was 30 years ago when he was your age.

You haven't stated your level yet. Are you advanced? Are you winning state level tournaments or being moderately competitive at national level tournaments in your age group?

Thanks I think I understood that not in this life I can be a tt player. But
Do you know why I wanted to be a tt player?
So I could be different from the other kids in India and be a inspiration for them to follow their dreams and not follow the career given to them by their parents

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Exactly. He started his career at 16.
But why can't I?

No, he started training at 4 years old. He had an uncle and a father who were top level players.

He started being a pro at 16 years old when he was capable of competing with the top men in the world. At 16 years old when he BECAME A PRO, he had already trained for 12 years. He could already beat most of the top 50 players in India.

Are you able to beat anyone in the top 50 in your country?

Are you saying that right now you could play close with the Lebrun Brothers, with Anton Kallberg, Patrick Franziska, Marcos Freitas, Truls Moregardh, Simon Gauzy?

 

[Advay]

No, he started training at 4 years old. He had an uncle and a father who were top level players.

He started being a pro at 16 years old when he was capable of competing with the top men in the world. At 16 years old when he BECAME A PRO, he had already trained for 12 years. He could already beat most of the top 50 players in India.

Are you able to beat anyone in the top 50 in your country?

Are you saying that right now you could play close with the Lebrun Brothers, with Anton Kallberg, Patrick Franziska, Marcos Freitas, Truls Moregardh, Simon Gauzy?

Thanks you so much for clearing my doubt.
I think I understood why I shouldn't play table tennis

 

[ThePongCommenter]

Thanks you so much for clearing my doubt.
I think I understood why I shouldn't play table tennis

You should play table tennis. As a hobby. See how good you can get but still prioritize school and what your parents tell you.

But better to drop the big dreams of becoming a pro athlete after an impossibly late start and inspiring kids all across India with your story.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Thanks I think I understood that not in this life I can be a tt player. But
Do you know why I wanted to be a tt player?
So I could be different from the other kids in India and be a inspiration for them to follow their dreams and not follow the career given to them by their parents

It is a good goal. You can try. There would be nothing wrong with trying. Have you played in any national tournaments vs nationally ranked players?

Again, Achanta Sharath Kamal began being trained by relatives who were high level players and coaches at the age of 4. By 14 years old, he had 10 solid years of training under his belt. By 16 when he turned pro, he had 12 years of hard, solid training.

How many years did you say you have been playing table tennis?

But you should try. Do your best. Nothing bad will happen. You will learn a lot if you try.