Diya Chitale: The tiny titan of Indian table tennis dreams

India Today

20 hours ago

It's easy to miss Diya Chitale in a crowd. Standing at 4 ft 11 inches tall, the diminutive 22-year-old moves with clinical economy — not a breath wasted, not a step more than necessary. You could walk past her without a second glance.But inside a table tennis court, she transforms. Chitale becomes a force of nature. She doesn't back down from a fight. You jeer her, she answers with a cold stare and an even colder forehand. You rile her up, and she just might feed off it — and hand you a thrashing.advertisementKolkata Thunderbolts found that out the hard way. In a recent Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) match against Dabang Delhi, Chitale trailed 3-7. What followed was an eight-point blitz that left 19-year-old Ananya Chande stunned and the crowd silenced.
Chitale thanked the pro-Kolkata crowd post-match for fuelling her comeback.'I think the drums really helped us until the end. Thank you for the drums,' said Diya in the post-match interview with the official broadcaster, referring to the arrangements done by the opponent team.Bowing down to injuries is part of the journey. Rising back from it is what defines you. Restarting with unstoppable energy @WTT Star Contender Chennai. pic.twitter.com/i69pepedGu— Diya Chitale (@DiyaChitaleTT) March 25, 2025The Mumbaikar is one of the standout names in India's new wave of table tennis stars. She and her partner Manush Shah are currently ranked 11th in the world in mixed doubles and recently won the WTT Contender Tunis 2025. In a thrilling final, the third-seeded duo edged past Japan's second-seeded pair of Sora Matsushima and Olympic medallist Miwa Harimoto.advertisementChitale's rise has come at the right time for Indian table tennis. India qualified for the team events at the 2024 Paris Olympics for the first time since the sport was introduced in 1988. The country sent its largest-ever contingent — eight players — and saw its most iconic paddler, Achanta Sharath Kamal, honoured as India's flagbearer.That sort of recognition can go a long way for the athletes who aspire to be future Olympians and that seems to hold true for Diya Chitale, who is hell-bent on ending the country's medal drought in the competition.'Table tennis has really been on the rise in the past few years, you know, like Manika winning the gold at the Commonwealth Games. Sreeja is doing really well. So I think everything is really moving in the right direction for Indian table tennis,' Chitale told India Today in an exclusive interaction in Ahmedabad, where she is currently playing Ultimate Table Tennis, India's premier table tennis competition.The UTT, which is now in its 6th edition, has allowed Indian players a platform to play against some of the biggest talents in the world, under the umbrella of franchises. Chitale, representing Dabang Delhi, is the tournament's most expensive Indian player. Retained for Rs 14.1 lakh tokens, she's repaid that investment by helping Delhi storm into the semifinals.advertisementChitale believes India's best shot at Olympic gold lies in mixed doubles, especially with more medal events opening up in LA 2028. And the way India is closing the gap, she says, the time is now.'I think in doubles is one aspect where I see if you have a big, big chance in winning a medal for India at the Olympics, because that is now a separate event,' Diya said.'And also, over the past few years, if you've seen, we have been beating, you know, top-ranked players and we are getting there. I mean, first, like previously, if you see, I think the gap was quite a lot, but I think slowly we are bridging the gap and it's getting better with time,' she added.Despite being just 22, Chitale approaches the game — and life — with startling discipline. Asked about her daily schedule, Chitale stresses training, recovery, and diet, one that can only be accomplished by uncompromising discipline.
Diya Chitale (PTI Photo)
advertisementIt might be by coincidence that she's come to the interview with a jacket that has 'Virat' written on it. Her obsessive regimen and steely mindset mirror the cricketer she admires. There are more parallels. On the field of play, just like Kohli, she doesn't hold back. She shrieks. She stares down opponents. She gets into the game — and into their heads.'I think when I have a break time or some time off, then typically maybe Sundays, then normally catch up on some sleep, I think that's the first thing I do. But yeah, I also like my friends and cousins, like they live pretty close. So then we just hang out, maybe play some board games, card games,' Diya said.'Honestly, there's not so much time. But yeah, it's just when it's time, not really thinking about table tennis and all and just, I like watching movies, series, so maybe something like that or like I said, just play some games or just hang out here,' she added.Asked about the last film she watched, she draws a blank. That level of focus leaves little room for anything outside her Olympic tunnel vision.advertisement'I'm very self-motivated. Like, I think from the first step on my parents never really had to push me to go for training, even since I was very young, I think I have been a very self-motivated athlete, I would say,' Diya Chitale said.RIGHT COACH, RIGHT TIMESelf-motivation takes you far — but in sport, the right coach can take you further. Chitale credits her rise to an early spark and timely guidance from Sachin Shetty. Her first TT experience was on family vacations as a child. It was only when she won a silver medal in the U12 nationals that her family got serious about the sport.'I was a very active child, and on vacations, I would play TT as a hobby. When I won bronze in my first district tournament as a child, the journey started from there. I won the silver medal in U12 in national championships, that is when I got serious,' Chitale recalled.'My coach Sachin Shetty, I think he was the mastermind behind all of this'Sachin's advice was blunt: if you want to win medals, not just represent India, you have to think outside the box. That meant training abroad, playing more international matches, and rebuilding her fundamentals.advertisementThe changing landscape of Indian sports has also been a wind beneath the wings of the young athlete. Since Neeraj Chopra's historic gold at the Tokyo Olympics, both the Indian public and the government have risen. Diya states that she is currently in the TOPS developmental scheme, which has been of massive help in her journey.'I've really seen the change through the years and I feel now other people also know players, other than cricket. If you are someone who is PV Sindhu, of course they know. You are someone who is Neeraj Chopra, of course they know now. So I think this is something that has really been changing and people are watching other sports also a lot nowadays. So, of course, to reach the level of cricket, it will, of course, take some time, I think. But I think it's just getting better with time,' Diya added.FROM STANDS TO CENTRE STAGEOne part of the increase of awareness has to be attributed to the Ultimate Table Tennis competition, which started in 2017. For any aspiring athlete, it is important to see their heroes on TV, and more importantly, it is crucial for them to get a feel of the crowd, to soak in the energy. Diya Chitale reveals that she was in the stands during the first season of the tournament and absolutely loved her experience in Mumbai.It is perhaps important in the development of her character on the court as well, which interacts with the crowd, feeds off them and lifts them up with her every passing shot.She played for the first time in the competition in 2023 - with her hometown team U Mumba. It was a disastrous season for her, where she failed to win a single match. But she swears that it taught her how to deal with pressure, with failure.Cut to 2025, she is the most expensive player in the auction and also one of the biggest players in the Indian circuit.'UTT started in 2017 and at that time, also, I was following everything very keenly. I was also actually in the stands, you know, I was there for the matches. In 2023, I finally got a chance. I was drafted into U Mumba and I got a chance to play. But yeah, my first season was not very good. I did not win a single match. I think the atmosphere here that they have created is totally different, like the pressure in these kinds of situations is on a different level, you know?' she said.As Diya got up to leave, a wry smile flashed across her face. The 45-minute interview had eaten into her meticulously planned day — but she didn't seem fazed.Asked if small deviations still bother her, she chuckled. She's learning to let go, she said. Learning not to grip her goals too tightly.'The more you hang on to something and the more pressure you put on it that, okay, I have to do this, I have to do this, the further it gets away. So this is something that I really learned over the past one, two years. So I think this is like what I have tried to change is just to put in everyday work and yeah, when it comes, it comes. If not, I will try one more time,' Chitale concluded.