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The Hindu
32 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Ankur Bhattacharjee, the table tennis prodigy with shades of Virat Kohli and Truls Moregard
His aggression at the table evokes visions of Virat Kohli. So do more than the dozen tattoos he sports. His unconventional technique reminds you of Truls Moregard, the Swede who stormed into the men's singles final at the Paris Olympics. And he worships Grand Slam winner Zhang Jike. Creating a stir But, amidst all this, there are a few who wonder whether he can translate his exploits at the junior level to the open category. The house is definitely divided on how to bill Ankur Bhattacharjee, the teenager from Kolkata who has created a stir in the world of table tennis. More than his consistent top-five Under-19 World ranking, it's his uncanny ability to force formidable opponents onto the back foot that has catapulted him to the top of 'the next big thing' ladder in Indian table tennis. The men's game in the country finds itself at a crossroads. A. Sharath Kamal — the flagbearer for two decades — has hung up his boots. Harmeet Desai and G. Sathiyan are in the latter half of their careers. Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar, the spectacled duo, have been close to cementing themselves at the top of the Indian charts. ALSO READ | Divya, the girl who could become chess queen Against this backdrop, Ankur's rise from sapling to slowly spreading banyan offers hope. His achievements at 18 have rarely been matched even by the best at this age. Unbeaten in age-group categories on the domestic circuit for three years, he has already tasted success in Senior National Ranking events. He broke into the national squad for the World Championships earlier this year. On the world circuit, Ankur — he is coached by father Anshuman; mother Kuntali is also a former paddler — is placed at No. 3. He has not left the top-10 since February 2025. Despite Ankur having excelled at various levels, many believe he is far from being the finished product. One of them is Jorg Bitzigeio, the German coach with whom Ankur spent three weeks training earlier this year. Much of the scepticism has to do with the Indian's maverick technique. While table tennis is a forehand-dominant sport, with the backhand playing the supporting role, Ankur is an exception. He covers most of the table with his backhand, producing both top-spin and rocket winners that breach even the best defence. His wrong-footed stance leaves his extreme forehand corner vulnerable, but he compensates with his ability to surprise opponents. He uses the jab effectively, imparts side-spin from various angles and is super-agile, reaching virtually every possible ball. The combination makes Ankur an effective, watchable proposition. This was on display time and again during Ultimate Table Tennis' sixth edition, where he justified the faith shown in him by his home franchise Kolkata ThunderBlades. For the second year in succession, he was among the leading Indians, accounting for fancied opponents. As a result, while Indian table tennis is divided over Ankur's ability and his backhand-oriented technique, he isn't rattled by it .'Since 2017, I have been hearing that you can't have your backhand as your main weapon. First of all, I don't think of myself as a backhand-only player. And I have been working on my game over the last two years,' Ankur told The Hindu during UTT. 'No player is perfect and everyone has a stronger flank. There is no harm in having your backhand as your strong suit, but I am working on my overall technique anyway.' The right mix For the last two years, Ankur and Anshuman have been focusing on improving his efficiency in the forehand corner without sacrificing the backhand as his USP. It's his ability to execute unimaginable backhand strokes that has drawn comparisons with Moregard. 'I have heard this a lot — rather overheard it — that he can be India's Truls, but I know I have a long way to go. Playing the men's World Championships is just the start.' Had it not been for a parental push, though, Ankur could well have followed in the footsteps of his sporting idol — Kohli. Sensing that cricket is an expensive sport even for beginners, his paddler parents directed him to a table. In less than two years after first gripping a racquet, Ankur became India No. 2 in the cadet category. There has been no looking back. Ankur's day in Kolkata, when he is not travelling the world, is consumed with table tennis. ALSO READ | Nikhat Zareen reiterates 'hunger to win medals' ahead of World Boxing Championships 'The day starts with fitness training from 8 to 10 a.m. Then a half-hour break. From 10.30 to 3 o'clock, I practise, and again in the evening from 6 to 9, I am back at the table,' he says. Mental training? 'Nothing formal yet, but I have found my own little techniques that help me.' One recent method is listening to the Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional hymn. Early in 2025, he was feeling low at the start of a WTT event in Cappadocia, Turkey. 'I wasn't playing well. Before the first match over there, I listened to it by accident and won. 'I kept on playing it before every match that week and went on to win the U-19 title, beating Benyamin Faraji [a top junior], who had entered the tournament on a high, beating a men's top-30 player in the earlier week. Since then, I play Hanuman Chalisa before every match.' It doesn't take much time to figure out that Ankur is a religious youngster. After all, his first tattoo was a depiction of 'Lord Shiva, since I am a Shiv-bhakt'. 'They have started calling me a Bengal tiger, so I recently got a tiger tattooed as well,' he says, with a sheepish smile. God-fearing and soft-spoken in general, he turns into a livewire at the table, even rubbing his opponents the wrong way. 'Being aggressive comes naturally to me. In fact, it spurs me on. Sometimes I need that adrenaline rush, so I don't mind being ultra-aggressive,' Ankur says. Perhaps it's a trait he has imbibed from Kohli. He can't choose among Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Zhang, should he be given the opportunity to meet one. 'I am in awe of all of them. When I am not playing table tennis, I am either watching cricket or a Zhang Jike match,' he says. During the IPL, when Punjab Kings checked into the same hotel as the UTT entourage, Ankur had hoped for Royal Challengers Bengaluru to join them in the final. But Kohli & Co. were in another hotel and Ankur's demanding schedule meant he could neither seek an audience with his hero nor watch him in action. Keeping it simple But he knows he has plenty of time to fulfil his wish-list of meeting the trio. And he realises that rather than trying to make it happen — or spell out his aspirations of winning an Olympic or a Commonwealth medal — he wants to keep it simple. 'All I need to do is to keep improving and working harder with every passing day,' he says. 'If I can do that, I know I will achieve much more than what I have. The goals can keep getting revised, I am only starting now. There's a long way to go.'
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Deep ties: on India-Maldives ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Maldives last week, after an invitation by Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu to be a special guest for the country's 60th Independence Day, signalled the full return of relations to the closeness they held during the previous Ibrahim Solih government. Although the two leaders had not gotten off to the best start in 2023, after Mr. Muizzu's surprise win, backed by an 'India Out' campaign — this was followed by a 'Boycott Maldives' social media campaign in India — they have been on the mend for the past year. During Mr. Muizzu's 2024 state visit to India, India had announced measures including lines of credit and a currency swap arrangement to support the Maldives during its economic troubles. Mr. Muizzu reflected gratitude when he described India's role in the Maldives as 'pivotal' and Mr. Modi reciprocated the warmth. India announced a line of credit worth $565 million (₹4,850 crore) and reduced the annual debt burden for Maldives on previous Indian lines of credit by 40%. There was also the launch of India-Maldives Free Trade Agreement negotiations, which will be a significant driver of future engagement. There was the signing too of MoUs for cooperation in fisheries, meteorological sciences, digital solutions and pharma, as well as a digital and rupee-rufiyaa national currency payments agreement. Over the past six decades, India has cultivated a strong security partnership with the Maldives, including trilateral national security consultations with Sri Lanka, and it is significant that after Mr. Modi's visit, Mr. Muizzu welcomed Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for a state visit. The Maldives visit was also a reaffirmation of the importance of India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy, at a time when Indian foreign policy is facing headwinds linked to the U.S.'s trade tariffs and the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. The conflict with Pakistan after the Pahalgam attacks, and tensions with Bangladesh have engaged the government's attention. New Delhi has also been preoccupied with reaching out to different countries, following Operation Sindoor, but did not send delegations to neighbouring countries. It is heartening that New Delhi is preparing to welcome Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, who has not been invited to India since he took office a year ago. A commemorative stamp by the Maldives for its national day celebrations showed traditional Indian and Maldives boats, which Mr. Modi described as a reflection of India and the Maldives being not just neighbours 'but also fellow voyagers on a shared journey'. In a time of global economic turmoil, a closer engagement with the neighbours — one that shores up their economic needs and supports their plans for development where possible — is essential.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
"Ready for Gaganyaan": Shubhanshu Shukla To NDTV After Historic Space Mission
New Delhi: In his first public interaction since returning from a landmark 20-day space mission, India's astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla spoke to NDTV, offering a deeply personal and inspiring account of his journey beyond Earth. From completing the "homework" assigned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a humorous moment of post-space disorientation, Group Captain Shukla's reflections mark a pivotal moment in India's human spaceflight ambitions. "Completed Homework That PM Modi Gave" In a candid exchange, Group Captain Shukla confirmed that he had fulfilled the task entrusted to him by PM Modi to document every aspect of his mission for the benefit of India's upcoming Gaganyaan programme. "I remember very well the homework given to me by the Prime Minister. And I completed it very well. I am very excited to come back and share it with you all. I am confident that all that knowledge is going to prove extremely useful and crucial for us, for our own Gaganyaan mission," Group Captain Shukla said. He emphasised that his participation in the international mission launched by Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX was not just a personal milestone, but a national investment. "India has spent almost $70 million on you," NDTV's Science Editor Pallava Bagla pointedly noted. "Did we benefit or not?" Group Captain Shukla's response was unequivocal: "This mission has been very successful and will be very beneficial for our mission." "India's Second Orbit Has Begun" Reflecting on the symbolic and emotional weight of the mission, Group Captain Shukla described a defining moment: speaking to PM Modi from space with the national flag fluttering behind him. "That moment symbolised India's re-entry in space, not as a spectator, but as an equal participant," he said. "After 41 years, a Bharatiya returned to space. But this time, it wasn't a solitary leap. It was the beginning of what I like to call India's second orbit." He credited the mission's success to the seamless collaboration between ISRO, the Indian Air Force, NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX. "Each of these institutions played a pivotal role in transforming this mission from an idea into a reality," he said. Group Captain Shukla expressed that the experience of living and working in microgravity was vastly different from training simulations on Earth. "The actual experience when you are up there is totally different," he said. "Understanding how your body reacts to the microgravity and the environment of space added on to the completeness of the entire training." "This Is Only the Beginning" Group Captain Shukla described the mission as a transformative experience, one that has filled him with a renewed sense of purpose. "The mission itself exceeded every one of my expectations. But nothing, literally nothing could have prepared me for what came after," he said. "The love, the messages, and the support from every corner of Bharat... it filled me with something which I did not expect. A new kind of purpose." Axiom-4 Or Mission Akash Ganga Group Captain Shukla is the first Indian to have visited the $150 billion orbiting space laboratory and Axiom Space, the private space company that brokered this visit for NASA and ISRO, which cost India nearly $70 million. After approximately 433 hours, 18 days, and 288 orbits around Earth covering nearly 12.2 million kilometres since docking with the International Space Station, the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew returned safely to Earth. This would be about 32 times the distance between the Earth and Moon. Group Captain Shukla is India's second astronaut after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma to go to space. Wing Commander Sharma flew to space in 1984 on an Indo-Soviet Mission. Ready For Gaganyaan As India prepares for its first indigenous human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, Group Captain Shukla's experience is expected to play a critical role in shaping astronaut training, mission protocols, and public engagement. His readiness, both physical and mental, is a testament to the rigorous training and support systems in place. "There is a properly incubated rehabilitation and recuperation programme," he said. "And step by step, you gain your strength and your balance. I feel perfectly normal. It feels as if I am ready to go on the space mission again."
