C Swetha Steffi, a class twelve student of the Lady Sivaswami Ayyar Girls High School made the neighbourhood proud by clinching the silver medal in table tennis at the National School Games held earlier this month in Vadodara, Gujarat.
Swetha Steffi has been playing table tennis for a decade now and speaking to News Today about the victory, which also happens to be her first in singles at a major event, she said, “The competition was very tough with some of the best players from the country participating in it. Happy to reach the finals and clinch the silver medal.” The tournament saw 128 players representing it. “Five players including me represented the state out of which one was from Erode and the other from Madurai” added Swetha.
Swetha started playing table tennis when she was in class two. “My father is a hockey player, who played for Tamilnadu. So I got interested in sports but after watching table tennis on television during the Olympics, I got interested in it,” she said.
“During my sixth standard, I was ranked third in the State in the sub-junior category and soon after that joined Lord’s Table Tennis Academy in YMCA Royapettah,” she added. Swetha Steffi is currently ranked fourth in the state in the Under-19 Juniors category.
Currently studying 12th, Swetha easily manages to tackle both studies and table tennis. “According to me, any sport helps improve concentration and since I am playing table tennis, which involves a lot of focus, I think that helps me do well in studies as well,” she said.
She credited her parents and the school for encouraging her in the sport. “First of all, I should give the credit to my parents as they have been a constant pillar of support. They have always encouraged me whenever I feel down and gave me the motivation to perform well. I should also thank my school for giving importance to table tennis. Our school has a board that helps us practice the sport and has even produced many players,” she added.
Swetha, who idolises Mauma Das, says that she wants to concentrate more on the sport after her school. “I plan to go to Bangalore and enhance my training. My aim is to represent India within 2020,” she says confidently.