25th March 2025: The Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Badminton Stadium saw five days of intense sporting action at the Dream Sports Championship Table Tennis U 15 Tournament featuring some of the best and brightest future stars of table tennis in India. To make it more special, the tournament also featured the participation of 12 young paddlers representing 6 International Federations. With masterclasses and educational workshops for athletes, coaches and parents, the tournament proved to be more than what the athletes imagined it to be.
“You are not just playing matches here. You’re getting to train with international players, play matches against them, and at the same time have these different workshops that educate the players, the coaches, and the parents. It was a superb initiative that holistically looked at improving the grassroots level,” table tennis legend Sharath Kamal, who gave a motivating masterclass to the budding stars, said.
Shri J Meghanatha Reddy, Member Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, who was part of the presentation ceremony on the day of the finals praised the Dream Sports Foundation and said, “We are grateful that a tournament of this scale happened here in Chennai. We hope the tournament continues to take place here and we assure we will offer our full support to them.”
Over the duration of the tournament, nutritionists, strength and conditioning coaches, and experts such as Olympians Sharath and Sreeja Akula held sessions with the athletes and their parents to help in bridging the gaps in the ecosystem. The purpose of the masterclasses, held as a part of DSF’s Dream Again initiative, was to give insights to parents about the challenges faced by young athletes, and also to groom coaches on how to intervene when dealing with athletes’ physical and psychological limitations.
Sahil Rawat, who won the title in Boys category, described the sessions as “informative” while Divyanshi Bhowmick, the winner in the Girls category expressed happiness over having the opportunity to meet and learn from sporting legends. Mother of Akash Rajavelu, India no. 2 in U-15 category, Mala Rajavelu, said, “The coaches were very soft-spoken and they explained a lot of things. Moreover, they also listened to us. All mothers need these sessions.”
The day after the final, Indian Table Tennis team Head Coach Massimo Costantini held a key discussion with the young paddlers during the final masterclass, offering guidance on crucial techniques and sharing key insights to help shape their future development. The participants in the tournament gained valuable insights from the veteran coach as the tournament came to a close on Sunday.
