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Diya Chitale, India’s top women’s singles player, talks about her top bid in the UTT Ahmedabad auction, performance pressures, and how Ultimate Table Tennis supports young talents.
Diya Chitale has been UTT’s star performer (Picture credit: UTT)
Among the 50+ players in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Ahmedabad auction pool earlier this year, youngster Diya Chitale, India’s top-ranked women’s singles player, bagged her spot beside seasoned pros like Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. In a country like India, where ‘auction price’ is always one of the most talked about subjects — see, the IPL 2025 — Diya was picked as the highest bid.
The 22-year-old speaks to News18 Sports about the pressures associated with the bid, her mindset during close matches, using aggression to fuel herself, and how UTT is promoting young talents like her.
Excerpts:
You attracted the highest bid for an Indian player at the auction. Did you see that coming, and how was the feeling afterwards, since ‘auction value’ is a big term in Indian sport nowadays?
I didn’t see that coming since there were so many top-ranked players. But I am glad about whatever happened in the auction, that so many teams wanted me to be with them, which showed that I am on the right path and doing the right things. It was a huge boost of confidence. Last year, too, I was with Dabang Delhi, and it was a pleasure to be repurchased by them.
But that also adds a little bit of pressure to perform well for the team, and I have to stay in the moment. It was a good performance from me last year, and I would like to continue the same.
What is your mindset during close games, especially when it’s a do-or-die situation for you and your team?
I just try and tell myself to push for every point; try to be aggressive and not be passive. When I play aggressively, I am at my best. I don’t think about past or future results or what the present result will be. Just try to have fun and be present in the moment.
Speaking about aggression, how much does it fuel your game?
I am a very aggressive player and cheer myself a lot on the field. That helps to push myself and bring the best out of myself. So I try and do it as much as possible.
How do you see a league like the United Table Tennis helping in the growth of the sport in India?
It has provided a great platform for Indian players to perform at the highest level. For young players like me, this is the first season, and I am happy. It’s great to be part of the team. It’s good to face this kind of atmosphere and be in close situations.
Practising with and against the foreign players helped me to learn a lot. That helped me grow as a player. The amount of pressure in these tournaments handled here helps us in other tournaments as well.
Your team has won all the ties till now. What do you think is working for the bunch?
Our team bonding is great. It doesn’t matter if a player is losing, and everyone is there for each other. The support from the bench is working for us, and the coach is not putting any pressure on us.
The coaches say that we should just play our game freely, and they don’t put any pressure on us.
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