The Rise and Rise of Manush Shah: From Humble Grassroots to the Elite of Table Tennis

Over the past few years, Manush Shah has emerged as a prominent figure in Indian table tennis, showcasing remarkable talent and determination. His journey reached a pinnacle at the 86th Senior National Table Tennis Championships in Surat, where he clinched his maiden men's singles title.

Early Life and Rise

Born on January 12, 2001, in Vadodara, Gujarat, Manush's tryst with table tennis began after a significant childhood injury redirected his athletic pursuits from cricket to table tennis. His dedication to the sport was evident early on, leading him to represent India in various junior international tournaments. Notably, he secured two silver medals at the Asian Junior Championships and participated in the World Junior Championships in 2018, where he reached the quarterfinals in men's doubles.

Climbing the Ranks

In 2022, Manush's consistent performances earned him a bronze medal at the Senior National Championships.

His upward trajectory continued, and by January 2025, he achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 78 in singles. In doubles, partnering with Manav Thakkar, he reached the world No. 10 spot, with the duo making significant strides in international tournaments, including a notable quarterfinal finish at the 2023 Asian Games.

National Championship Triumph

The culmination of Manush's hard work was evident at the 2025 Senior National Table Tennis Championships held at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium in Surat. In the men's singles final, he faced Delhi's Payas Jain. Despite dropping the first game 10-12, Manush showcased resilience and tactical prowess to win the next four games consecutively, securing the title with a 4-1 victory (10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10, 11-8).

Reflecting on his achievement, Manush expressed immense joy, especially winning in his home state. He credited the local support as a significant factor in his triumph, stating, "The support I got today from the fans made a lot of difference."

Looking Ahead

With his maiden national title and rising international rankings, Manush Shah's future in table tennis looks promising. His journey from a young enthusiast to a national champion serves as an inspiration, highlighting the impact of dedication, resilience, and local support in achieving sporting excellence.

For those interested in witnessing his championship-winning performance, here's the final match against Payas Jain:
https://youtu.be/U9o39oFEuvo

Table Tennis India aims for medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Indian players are laser-focused on the Paris Olympics 2024, where 60 countries are participating in the Table Tennis sport. This time, they will not go to the athletes village to enjoy and meet famous sports stars. Their goal is to bag nothing less than medals.

This is probably the first Olympics when this aim is realistic. We have the experienced Sharath Kamal again along with India's star player, Manika Batra. But this time, we also have Sreeja Akula who has improved by leaps and bounds in the past few years and is now ranked in the elite groups.

India's team medal prospects provide some hope as the teams have players of good strength and experience.

Massimo Costantini is also sensing the ambitious mood of the Indian Table tennis team. A unique fact this time is that there are a few personal coaches, which indicates that the sport has become highly professional and lucrative at the top level.

India Table Tennis team composition:

Men’s team: Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, and Manav Thakkar; 

Reserve player: G. Sathiyan

Men’s singles: Sharath Kamal and Harmeet Desai

Women’s team: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, and Archana Kamath; 

Reserve player: Ayhika Mukherjee

Women’s singles: Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula

Harmeet Desai and Sutirtha Mukherjee are National Champions!

Harmeet and Sutirtha won the National Table tennis Championships titles yesterday. While the strong Sutirtha beat Kritwikka in straight sets in the finals, Harmeet overcame teammate Manav Thakkar in a close encounter.

Super stars Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan were upset by Soumyajit Ghosh and Harmeet respectively.

Photo: Kesavan for The Hindu

Many Indian group matches at the Australian Open Table tennis tournament today

Harmeet Desai will start his match at 6 PM (Geelong time) at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum Australian Open at Geelong. Sathiyan and Sharath will play their matches next followed by Manav a little later in the day. Sanil and Amalraj have already played their first matches yesterday. Sharath and Sathiyan have relatively easy opposition while Manav faces the formidable Maharu Yoshimura.

In the Women's singles, India's star player Manika Batra plays her match tomorrow. In a bizzare pairing, Sutirtha Mukherjee will face off against Ayhika Mukherjee in a group match. Bizzare because they've traveled thousands of kilometers to play at the Australian open from their home where they live just some kilometers apart! Pooja Sahasrabuddhe Koparkar won her tough group match earlier.

Photo courtesy of the ITTF. Only for representational purposes.

Birdie Boro wins CBSE national Table Tennis title

Birdie Boro beat team mate Manav Thakkar (India Junior Champion and India No. 1) in the finals of the CBSE nationals at the Emerald International School, Indore.

Manav gave a tough fight to his mentor and close friend. They gave a thrilling display of their skills to the huge number of spectators gathered at the venue.

Manav Thakkar wins the Junior National Table Tennis Championship title

Manav Thakkar wins the Indian Junior National Championship at Allepey, Kerala!

He is now no. 1 in both sub junior and junior categories.

Congrats to the brightest Indian prodigy!!

Editor

Naina, Manav Thakkar bag East Zone National Table Tennis titles

Naina and Manav Thakkar won the Sub Junior girls and boys titles at the National Table Tennis tournament at Siliguri.
Tanishi Kirtani and Udit Bhattacharya won the Cadet titles.

Results:
Sub-Junior Boys: Final: Manav Thakkar (PSPBA) bt Ronit Bhanja (WB) 4-1 (6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6)

Sub-Junior Girls: Final: Naina (AP) bt Moumita Dutta (WB) 4-3 (11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10)

Cadet Boys: Final: Udit Bhattacharya (WB) bt Rohan Ghosh (WB) 4-0 ( 11-8, 11-6, 11-7,11-7)

Cadet Girls: Final: Tanishi Kirtani (Goa) bt Neha Kumari (NB) 4-3 (11-3, 11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7)

Manav Thakkar and Moumita Datta win Sub Junior titles at West Zone National Ranking Table Tennis tournament

Pint-sized Manav Thakkar won the Sub Junior Boys title at the West Zonal National Ranking Table Tennis tournament at Thane. The PSPB lad Manav Thakkar beat Rohit Bhanja of North Bengal in the finals. In the Girls finals, Moumita Datta of West Bengal beat Shruti Amrute from the host state.

Udit Bhattacharya and Tulika Roy won the Cadets titles.
Photo: Vikas Thakkar

Scores:
Cadet girls:
Tulika Roy (WB) bt Swastika Ghosh (MHR) 11/4,11/6,11/6,11/9

Cadet boys:
Udit Bhattacharya bt Soham Bhattacharya (WB) 11/4,6/11,7/11,7/11,12/10,11/7,11/5

Sub Junior Girls
Moumita Datta (WB) bt Shruti Amrute (MHR) 11/5,7/11,11/4,11/8,11/9

Sub Junior Boys
Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt Rohit Bhanja (NB) 11/7,8/11,12/10,8/11,12/10,11/6