Mumbai, Sep 15 (PTI) Syndrela Das’ rapid rise has met with her call-up to the senior women’s side in the Asian Games with the 17-year-old setting sights on winning the gold and breaking into the top 50 “as fast as possible”.
Currently ranked No. 99 in ITTF women’s singles’ rankings and world No. 27 in youth girls’ singles, Syndrela heads to the Asian Games in Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya with a strong performance in the domestic circuit to showcase her form.
Her title wins in women’s singles and U-19 girls’ singles at the National Ranking Table Tennis Championships last month certainly put the spotlight on the Kolkata-based Syndrela, whose list of achievements includes defeating Manika Batra in a women’s singles game of the Ultimate Table Tennis.
“For the country, of course, I am looking forward to the Asian Games and we would try to clinch the gold, of course. But personally, I would try to get into the top 50 as fast as possible,” Syndrela, who played for UTT 2026 finalists Dempo Goa Challengers, told PTI in an exclusive interview.
Syndrela said her selection in the national side makes this season her “best” one yet but there still remains a lot to learn.
“I would say this season is going very well because I have been selected for the Asian Games, Commonwealth Championships and also the Youth Olympics,” she said.
“… and by far also I am in the senior team now, so I would say this season would be the best for me. Of course, I have lost many matches, many I have won, and there is a lot to learn, so this is how I would analyse it.” For Syndrela, focussing on mental training as well as analysing mistakes made in matches to convert them into success is the key.
“When there is off-season (time), I always focus on my fitness training and also mental training because it is equally important as my health,” she said.
“I train in the morning for like 3-4 hours and also in the evening for 2-3 hours. That’s how every day goes, and I also have fitness and gym like each day.” “When I play each tournament, of course, after that, I go back and analyse them with my coach, and as per that, I improve every day. Every single day, the mistakes I make in a match, I try to fix those every day in practice.” “… and that’s what I know. Every day, if I practise like this in a match, slowly, slowly, it will convert the mistake into success,” Syndrela added.
Syndrela says identifying the pressure in the game that was stopping her from excelling has helped her find her own way to deal with it.
“First, I used to feel pressure is something which is always stopping me from excelling. When I spoke to my mental trainer, she said that pressure is a privilege. After that, I don’t think I really care about pressure because not everybody can experience this pressure,” she said.
“She said that to take it in a positive way. Because if I compare myself with another girl, she may not know what this place feels like. In table tennis, she would not know how everybody thinks, (and) that pressure. So, if I compare myself with her, I know that pressure, right,?” Syndrela added. PTI DDV TAP
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