CHENNAI: Like most other class IX students in the city, S Preyesh is a Chennai Super Kings fan. He likes Harry Potter and horror movies. But his favourite pastime is playing table tennis. He is rather good at it. After winning the sub-junior title in the state championship, he created a ripple by claiming the senior crown as well. And when a 14-year-old does that, one has to take him seriously.
No other state has dominated this game like Tamil Nadu in the national circuit in the past two decades. Some of India’s finest players have come from the state. Going by early promise, Preyesh is a flag-bearer of this tradition. And he is nurtured by able hands. Having learnt his first lessons from former national champion and coach V Chandrasekar, he is now training in the academy run by the renowned S Raman. After months of fitness drills and sparring at home, Preyesh is relieved that competitions have started.
During the forced break, his task was keeping himself ready. “I have a table at home. Our coaches helped me with new inputs and I was able to pick them with the help of videos sent to me. I had regular online coaching,” he says.
Table tennis demands high levels of fitness. What augurs well for Preyesh is, he is taking the help of one of the best in India. Ramji Srinivasan is a former physical trainer of the Indian cricket team, who has worked with professionals from several sports. “Every morning for about two hours I underwent fitness programmes devised by Ramji,” he says.
On an average day, Preyesh spends three hours on his game, which includes working on skills, footwork and coordination. He wants to learn as much as he can from Raman. “I am keen to develop new skills in service. The banana technique and backhand topspin are among the many things that I want to learn from my coach.”
Once done with table tennis, this Chennai Public School student goes back to what classmates do. “I love reading Harry Potter; my favourite author is JK Rowling. I watched Conjuring 2. I watch horror movies and also like animations. But my favourite hero is Vijay.” A Sachin Tendulkar fan, he watches cricket once in a while. “I also watch trolls, memes and play PubG to de-stress.”
But the focus never shifts. “My aim is to be No 1 and win the national title in sub-junior, junior and youth categories. I am keen to win international medals once Covid-19 is over,” says the player who idolises Chennai star and World No 37 G Sathiyan, other than current world and Olympic champion Ma Long.