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An enduring rally
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An academy that has produced champs for 30 years is all set to grow in strength
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RACKET RECORDS Players in action at the Youngsters Table Tennis Academy (below) The trainees
At a time when table tennis just meant picking a flat piece of wood and bouncing ping-pong balls for hours together on the dining table, the Youngsters Table Tennis Academy (YTTA) changed the way the game was played in the city.
Initially, about 20 enrolled in the academy set up in 1976 at the Raga Sudha Hall on Tatabad 11th Street. It was headed by President S.V. Krishnan, coach K. Raghuraman and a few others.
Still going strong
The YTTA grew popular soon and the number of trainees went up too.
Thirty years later, the YTTA is still going strong. Located at the Muthu Engineering Complex on NSR Road, it has helped produce several State and National players.
The Academy split the children according to their age and conducted exclusive training camps.
Several players benefited from that. Prominent among them are Ramya Sridhar (two-time India No. 1 in the cadet and sub-junior categories) and B. Venkataraman, who remained sub-junior State champion for four years on the trot.
Giving the best shot
The current batch includes State players P.K. Gayathri, Amrita Raj (both represented the women's national twice), Sriman (sub-junior nationals) and N. Shilpa (State gold medallist in the senior schools category).
Despite limited infrastructure, Raghuraman has been doing his best to produce champions.
Currently, there are about 60 players under his care.
The coach, who represented BSNL at the national level for the past 30 years, is now training mini-cadets (under-10) and sub-junior boys and girls. He says, "I prefer training children. My aim is to help them reach the top by the time they complete Class IX."
How is it coaching children?
Great expectations
"Children want the opportunity to do things independently. They want to find their own way to get the serves and spins right. I don't mind. But then, when they graduate to the next level, they find things going awry. It's better to do it right from an early stage," asserts Raghuraman.
Over-expectation plays spoilsport when it comes to kids.
"They are asked to produce results at a very early age. They are thrown into competitions when they are not ready for it. There is a time for everything. They should be having fun playing the game and learn to appreciate every inch of their growth," he adds.
The academy conducts league matches every fortnight.
And, only when players are confident of making it to the big stage are they sent for tournaments.
The current president, P. Palanisamy of Muthu Engineering, has been a big source of support.
Raghuraman, who recently retired from BSNL, now plans to devote extra hours at the YTTA. His aim? "I want to produce more national champions."
RAYAN ROZARIO
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