The newly crowned number one table tennis players of Nepal deserve the appreciation for their years of hard work and endurance that culminated with them being ranked as top players in the current rankings after they finished first in the men´s and women´s category in the recently concluded Sonakshi Cup First National League Table Tennis Ranking Tournament.[break]
Shrestha won the women´s title remaining undefeated in all 19 matches of the tournament while Suwal lost just one match en route to become the new number one.
Suwal dethroned Shiva Sundar Gothe from the top position of men´s category after beating him in the last match of the league. Gothe lost the number one ranking after three years.
Meanwhile, Shrestha continued to be the national number one for the second successive year.
Nineteen-year-old Shrestha started playing table tennis since her school days and is currently a member of the Nepal Police Club (NPC). Her first official tournament was an inter-school tournament while studying at Bijeshwori Higher Secondary School in the mid-2000s. She attributes her success to the support provided by her school to develop her skills. She recalls practicing table tennis for two hours a day while she was at school.
Shrestha has participated in four major national tournaments and 11 international tournaments in senior and junior categories.
Shrestha, who faced a tough challenge in the first match of the recently concluded league, says that young players have a good potential for a tough fight. “If the young players are hungry for success and work hard to achieve it they will definitely be recruited by clubs,” said Shrestha. She herself was recruited by the NPC and was later given a permanent job.
Shrestha further added that if players are taken in by clubs, it will help them improve the standard of their game.
“We get regular training as well as pocket money that helps us buy the kits required for the game. I urge the young and emerging players to work hard. Their efforts will repay them.”
New number one in men´s category, Suwal, had started playing table tennis 12 years ago in his school Adarsh Youghari. Like Shrestha, Suwal also began with playing inter-school tournaments and continued the game despite early setbacks.
Suwal, 22, says that watching Eighth South Asian Games held in Nepal in 1999 encouraged him to join table tennis.
His first national tournament was the 30th National Table Tennis Championship held in Kathmandu. Recalling his debut in the local tournament, Suwal said that he had made up to the pre-quarterfinals and was happy with the result. “After that game, I focused more in the game, and now I am happy that I am the number one player of Nepal.”
Suwal has participated in four national tournaments, including the recently concluded league, and has also represented Nepal in more than a dozen international tournaments. Bhutan Friendship Tournament was the first international participation of Suwal, where he registered victory.
He is also a member of the NPC along with four other national table tennis players. He has been serving at the departmental team for the past two years.
Suwal says that players get regular training and pocket money after entering clubs and that in turn helps them sharpen their skills. He suggests the upcoming players to take the game seriously and keep up regular training.
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