Ayhika Mukherjee, popularly known as the golden girl of Indian table tennis has been holding the bat since she was six years old and has come a long way.
The elusive gold at the Commonwealth Championships is the result of the consistent hard work produced in two years.
She created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the Women’s Singles category of the 21st edition of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2019 at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack.
Catch Ayhika Mukherjee as she shares her journey with Namita Nayyar, President, Women Fitness.
N.N.
You created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the Women’s Singles category 21st edition of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships. Share your journey to become a table tennis player right from the age of 6 yrs.
A.M.
When I was 5 that’s when I started playing T.T. I started T.T. because of my mother. She used to think that every girl in Bengal should go for either dancing or singing (which is true) and encouraged me to join sports line. I had to be different from the rest of the girls. After 1 and a half year from joining I started playing with different racquet/ rubbers from others(anti/pimples). In 2008 I went for my first tournament and won the tournament in under12.
From that time, I thought that I can do something for this game and for myself. I used to set small goals for myself. I used to think if I win the district level, I can play for the state level and If I win the state level I can play for the national level and same with international. Even now I set small goals for myself and try to achieve. I like to go step by step. and I get a huge amount of support from my parents they sacrificed many things for me. My mother had to quit her job for home care and my father was in BSF, he took the volunteer retirement to build my career. He used to take me to all the tournaments. Even now he does that for my domestic tournaments. It wouldn’t be possible without them and of course my coaches. They helped me at each level of my life.