A premature baby born with a hole in his heart, Sanil Shetty today is the toast of the Indian table tennis scene through his dazzling show at Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) tournament
Falcons TTC's Sanil Shetty reacts during a men's singles match in the Ultimate Table Tennis League game in Chennai recently. Pic/PTI
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From receiving the ball as low as his knee and smashing unbelievable cross-court winners that even the Chinese would want to learn, table tennis exponent Sanil Shetty's contribution to Falcons TTC's triumph in the inaugural CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) was worthy of the highest praise. Teamed up with China's Lee Ho Ching at the National Sports Club of India on Sunday, Sanil won the hearts of his team owners, spectators and of course the sponsors.
As many would expect champagne being popped and hip-hop music as highlights of the after-party, the modest paddler chops assumptions to size.
TT player Sanil Shetty (right) with his brother Sachin
Quiet dinner with family
"We had a small team dinner as players had to catch their flight in the morning. But tonight, my entire family will go out for dinner," Sanil, a Malad resident said.
Sanil, 28, the younger brother of Sachin, a TT player-turned-coach in the city, is currently reaping the fruits of his hard work, but the scene was very different two decades ago.
A premature baby, born with a hole in his heart, young Sanil was searching for inspiration to live. "I was taking homeopathy treatment till I was nine or 10. Doctors said that nothing could be done. Our domestic help used to take me to school and bring me back home. I had breathing problems as well. But to improve my endurance and stamina, I took to athletics," Sanil recalled yesterday.
In 1998, the inspiration to play TT came from his father, Shankar, a bank manager. Brother, Sachin, who was the Indian coach for RP-SG Mavericks in the UTT, also provided another doze of stimulation, a cheeky one. "In 1998, Sachin brought home a huge trophy he won in a Mumbai University tournament. I was inspired and told him that even I want this trophy," Sanil said. In fact, he wanted to a win, "a bigger one."
Thus, Sanil's TT journey begun. He was soon training at Andheri's YMCA under Mumbai's reputed coach Deepak Mani, who produced many national champions.
Considering the financial situation at home, Sachin then decided to hang up his TT racquet and take up coaching when he was 21 just to mentor his little brother. "Ten years ago we didn't have that much support like we do now, but my parents supported him a lot. They gave him whatever he wanted and ensured he travelled in comfort. Our priority at home was to give him exposure," Sachin added.
National champ in 2014
Since taking up the sport at the age of 10, Sanil rose to become India's national table tennis champion in 2014. He was also the first player from Mumbai to achieve the feat since Kamlesh Mehta in 1995. Talking about the equation he shares with his brother, Sanil said: "Sachin is nine years elder to me, but he is more like a friend. I don't have many friends.
I spend time with my family. He shares his problems with coaching and sometimes I help him out with solutions." That's how the Shetty brothers have become each other's pillars. Sanil has so far defeated World No. 29 Aruna Quadri and World No. 31 Apolonia Tiago to name a few, while Sachin has coached many junior national champions, recent ones including World No. 30 Diya Chitale in U-15 category, who was part of the Indian team that amassed 24 medals in Jordan. The job is far from over. "My dream is to play in the 2020 Olympics, but before that, I want to do well at the Commonwealth Games next year," Sanil said. And he is completely cured now. "I struggled with it till I was 11. Now, I am completely fine and can run non-stop for three hours," he said.
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