Srushti Haleanadi caused an upset in the ProTT Academy Mumbai City District Championships Table Tennis Association ranking tournament by defeating second seed Dyuti Patki in the semifinal of the under-12 category on Sunday.
The Dahisar girl, Srushti is no stranger to causing upsets as she had beaten seeded players like Ashlesha Tehran and Simran Haria in the Mumbai Suburban District Championships in the under-14 category earlier this year.
The nine-year old was part of her triumphant school (VPM Vidyamandir) team which won the DSO and MSSA inter-school championships this year. Being a key player in her school team, she won the Bournvita Confidence Player-of-the-Year award for her performance in the MSSA tournament.
Srushti said, “My parents wanted me to play an indoor sport so I started playing table tennis at the age of seven at the BSF club, Dahisar.”
Along with being a promising sportsman she is very good at academics. “I came first in my school exams and stood 12th in the Maharashtra Scholarship examinations last year,” said Srushti.
Her achievements are a good indicator that this youngster balances her sports and academics. “Table tennis is not as exerting as outdoor sports so even after three hours of practice everyday I am not too tiered to study.
Furthermore, this game is very fast and requires a very high level of concentration. I believe that the ability to concentrate that I have developed for the game helps me focus when I am studying as well,” said Srushti.
