Meet Diya Chitale, National And International Junior Table Tennis Champ

Diya Chitale is a 16-year-old Mumbai based table tennis prodigy. She has participated in national and international tournaments and won accolades. Moreover, inspired by her triumph, she now aspires to win the 2024 Olympics gold for India.

Here's everything you need to know about Diya Chitale:

Diya is from Bandra in Mumbai and stays with her parents. She began playing table tennis at the age of  eight years and initially it was a hobby for her. Later in 2014, Diya began by representing her school at the district level and ended up winning a bronze level at the national level within the same year.

Key Takeaways

• Diya Chitale is a 16-year-old Table Tennis Athlete from Mumbai. She has won tournaments both nationally and internationally.
• She aspires to win gold for India in the 2024 Olympics.
• Diya stood at the world rank four in girls under 15 category as per the data released by IITF.
• In spite of her hectic training schedule, Diya manages to excel at school as well.

Diya trains for five-six hours a day to make sure she has all the fitness that is required to compete not only with the national level players but internationally as well. She travels to Germany often to train and plays league matches under the guidance of Peter Engel her Specialised International Coach.

In April 2019, the 16-year-old emerged the top draw in the 11SPORTS’ Mumbai Super League (MSL) auction. She became the highest bid player at the National Sports Club of India

She is as good at academics as she is in sports. In spite of her hectic training schedule, Diya manages to excel at school as well. She makes it a point to attend all of her exams and do well in them. Her education up to 10^th grade is from Arya Vidya Mandir School. The school was supportive of Diya’s choice and adjusted as per her availability to ensure that learning is not compromised.

Diya’s parents are happy and proud of her.  “Diya is the most obedient child that I can ever imagine” said Diya’s mom in an interview. Diya says her parents are her best friends. Her mom accompanies her in each of her practice sessions which Diya feels is an additional motivation towards her goal.

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After starring in #Maharashtra’s triumph in the junior girls’ team championship, Mumbai teenager Diya Chitale added a double crown to her kitty on the concluding day of UTT 81st junior and youth National #tabletennis championships.https://t.co/5BwOAzJkAf

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) December 8, 2019

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Diya Chitale’s achievements in the field of sports

• In December 2019, she clinched two individuals’ titles – junior and women in the 50th inter-district championship and 81st Maharashtra State Table Tennis Championship.
• In April 2019, the 16-year-old emerged the top draw in the 11SPORTS’ Mumbai Super League (MSL) auction. She became the highest bid player at the National Sports Club of India.
• Ping Panthers picked up the Under-18 India TT player for Rs 38,000 of the total purse available of Rs 1, 05,000. She was picked by top senior players like Divya Deshpande, Sanil Shetty, and Madhurika Patkar.
• Her other accomplishments include winning medals at international tournaments. She won the team gold and the singles silver medals at the Belgium Junior. Cadet Open and the team silver at Slovenia and the Czech Junior and Cadet Open tournament.

She was also the youngest Indian to play the German Table Tennis League in 2016. She represented TTC Langstadt Club, Frankfurt, Germany in the 4th division German League.

• As per the 2018 rankings released by ITTF, Diya stood at the world rank four in girls under 15 category.
• In 2017 she was the sole Indian to be selected for the prestigious International Table Tennis Federation Rough Diamonds training program for the U-15 category held at the Slovenian National Table Tennis Training Centre.
• She also received the Young Achiever Award from the International Association of Lions Club on the occasion of Women’s Day in 2017.
• In 2016, she was awarded the Shoorveer Bravery Award 2016 for courage, competitive strength and exemplary sports performance.
• Moreover, she was also the youngest Indian to play the German Table Tennis League in 2016. She represented TTC Langstadt Club, Frankfurt, Germany in the 4th division German League.
• In 2015, she was elected by ‘Olympic Gold Quest’ in their Junior Scholarship Athlete Program. Along with it she was also, got selected in the ITTF World Hopes Team.

Image Credits: Scroll.in

Gaurika Taneja is an intern with SheThePeople.TV