Sharveya Samant, 16, of The Suburban Table Tennis Association (TSTTA), Mumbai, is elated to have won his first individual gold medal in the boys U-19 at the recently-concluded Maharashtra State Ranking Tournament at the Salvaram Sankul Stadium, Dombivli. In the final, Sharveya defeated Pune’s Neil Mulye 4-3, while in the semi-final he registered a 3-0 win over Kushal Chopda of Nashik. In the quarter-final, he got the better of Mumbai’s Vineet Deepak 3-1. 

Sharveya, a Class 12 student of MMK College, Bandra, said the win is exceptional considering he will appear for his board exams this year. “I am really happy [to finally win an individual gold at the state level]. Though I have won three gold medals earlier in team events and 25 plus medals overall in different age groups, winning an individual medal at the state level in the U-19 category is really special. That too, is when I am preparing for my board exams. It’s hectic to juggle studies and training but I am able to manage as I had a similar schedule during Class 10 and also managed to get 95 per cent,” Sharveya, who trains under Noel Pinto at Prabodhankar Thackeray Krida Sankul in Vile Parle, told mid-day.com.