Having won laurels for Telangana at national and international events, paddler Snehit looks for support.

The young, talented paddler S. Fidel R. Snehit has entered a decisive phase in pursuit of excellence and he needs support from all fronts – more so on the financial side if he is to take part in more tournaments in future and keep moving up the ladder.

This 14-year-old who critics believe to be one of the best talents to emerge from Hyderabad has already brought laurels to the newly-formed Telangana State in four international events and more importantly winning gold in team event in the sub-juniors category besides silver in the just-concluded Cadet and the Sub-junior Nationals.

“I didn’t expect to get a chance to represent the country but I got an opportunity because of national ranking (India No.3). It is a wonderful experience that I’ll cherish for long,” feels Snehit, a Std. IX student of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Public School (BVBPS) and a trainee of the Global Table Tennis Academy (GTTA).

For the record, this young champion represented India in the South Asian Cadet & Junior Championship held in Islamabad last August and was a member of the gold-medal winning team and even settled for silver in the individual category losing to his teammate Manav Thakkar. One of the high-points of Snehit’s performance was winning two bronze in the India Open in Goa last year in team and doubles events.

Not surprisingly, his coach and former State player Somnath Ghosh at the GTTA is pleased with his ward’s progress.

“I watched Snehit playing his first international tournament and found that he can make his mark on the international arena. He proved me right in the South Asian Championships with two medals,” he points out.

It was double delight for Somnath as another of his trainees Akula Sreeja also did well on the international circuit.

“Snehit played a vital role for Telangana, getting the team silver in the sub-junior Nationals in Rajahmundry. He narrowly missed a medal in the doubles and faltered in individuals,” recalls the TSTTA selection committee chairman A. Narasimha Rao.

Snehit achieved a rare first of being the Telangana No. 1 in sub-juniors, juniors and youth categories.

His commitment even when he plays in the School Games nationals is perhaps a reminder of his intense urge to keep winning. He led Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Public School to CBSE National gold (under-14) which was incidentally a first from any school from the then unified Andhra Pradesh.

“It is still a long way to go for Snehit. He needs some international training and exposure trips. We will seek support from the Telangana government to brush up Snehit’s skills under the supervision of international coaches,” feel Snehit’s parents–S. Ramu and Hema. “We will be more than happy if the State Government comes forwards to help Snehit,” sign off the optimistic parents.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / January 21st, 2015