New Delhi:
Jammu's Aryan Mahajan has won first place in the U-1600 event of the 2016 Edgeball Chicago International Table Tennis Tournament by defeating Ronnie Coleman 3-0 in the one-sided finals.
Aryan, in fact, had a good run this year. In April, the 14-year old Jammu lad defeated strong rival Asawari Khadode by 3-2, lifting the prestigious 2016 Millcreek Giant Round Robin 5L Table Tennis Tournament title in Pennsylvania. In March, the teenager won the 2016 Arnold Table Tennis Challenge, defeating Reuter William at the Voinovich Centre in Ohio.
In January, Aryan claimed under-16 Table Tennis title in Ohio. However, in the US National in July Aryan lost in the semifinal of U-1500.
Being trained extensively by Ohio's top player Samson Dubina, Aryan has set his goal on being selected in the national team and go for the Olympics.
“My career goal is to do well in upcoming tournaments and reach higher levels. Also to get selected in the national team and go for Olympics,” Aryan said.
Aryan credits his father for his success.
“My dad used to play when he was young and he represented his state. Initially I used to play TT with my friends for fun but then I found it very interesting. When my school introduced it as a sport, I was selected for the school team. That’s the beginning, but I have a long-long way to go.”
