Overview

The table tennis court is filled with shouts as two players furiously rally their way back and forth, trying to trip each other up. The team has been hard at practice in the past few weeks with BOSM coming up.

The team practices for an hour in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening for the past few weeks. With the coach expected to come in next week, their practice sessions are expected to become more focussed and targeted.

This year, there has been a slight shift from the regular pattern in table tennis events. The events comprise of 2 categories: team events and mixed doubles. While the team events used to comprise of 2 singles and a doubles match, the double match ahs been replaced by reverse singles this year, to conform to the general format more commonly followed around the world.

Past Performance

The Girls’ Team has performed phenomenally, winning a gold last BOSM and performing well in outstation events as well. In IIT Delhi, they reached the semi-finals, but lost unfortunately. This did not slow them down though as they went on to win the Gold in BITS Dubai Sports Meet. The team has been training hard and intend to carry this momentum forward.

Recruitments

This year, the recruitments for the girls’ team was disappointing as very few candidates showed up and as a result, there are no new recruits. This is in stark contrast to the Boys’ Team for which the turnout was unprecedented. The captain feels that girls get disconnected with the sport due to academics, and are unsure of their ability when they get to college.

Captain’s Interview

Saima Rashid, captain of the Girls’ Team, has been using table tennis as a stress buster for quite a while. Her vast experience as a player and her deep involvement with the team is quite evident. As her last month as team captain starts, she is excited to see her team perform under her leadership.

She played table tennis throughout her school years, and was presented with a choice of choosing a career in sports or engineering. She decided that the sports career wasn’t the way to go, but continues to pursue it as a passion in college.

Taking up the mantle of captain hasn’t been too hard on Saima, as she has invested a lot of time into the team, and has assisted the previous captains in their duties. The sense of responsibility that comes along has helped shape her personality, and her ability to handle stress has improved.

The team is excited to shine again this BOSM as they gear up for the meet, and one wishes them the best of luck.