Back in 2013, the (then) 19-year-old Soumyajit Ghosh became India’s youngest national champion beating Achanta Sharath Kamal in the 74th National Table Tennis Championships.

In these near-five years, Ghosh’s career has seen highs and lows in equal proportion and the youngster now wants to set realistic goals and achieve them in a certain time frame.

Defining career objectives

“It has been good, so far. At the same time, I would also say I want to improve. I have been in the top-100 for almost three years,” Ghosh told The Field during the ongoing Ultimate Table Tennis, in which he is representing Shaze Challengers.

“So, my next target is to reach the top-50. It is not so easy [and] it will take some time. But, I have been here already [in the top-100]. I think [I] just [need] some more good matches and I will be there.”

Currently ranked 85th in the world, the Indian No 3’s closest brush with making it to the top-50 came about in June 2016, when he peaked at a career-high of 61st in the world. In the course of the next two months that year even as his rankings fluctuated, Ghosh qualified for his second Olympics, in Rio after having made the qualifying cut for the London Games in 2012.

Personally though, his early defeats in both editions of the Olympics have been jarring for Ghosh who said he wanted to do more beyond making token appearances in such important tournaments. And, according to him the only way for him to get more positive results in such tournaments is through focusing on similar events as the Olympics, starting with the 2018 Commonwealth Games to be held in Queensland, Australia.

Where to, next?

To that end, Ghosh also added that the difference in the scale of the tournaments – between the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games – helped sharpening India’s chances of winning medals. Not just for him, but also for the entire Indian table tennis contingent.

“In the Commonwealth [Games] we have some fixed opponents like England or Nigeria or Singapore. But, in other events like in the World Championships or Olympics, we don’t have this kind of fixed opponents,” elaborated Ghosh, who reached the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

“There we don’t know [against] whom we will get challenged or who will be the strongest. So, this is better for us to prepare for. Not so many players and not so many countries who are really strong. There will be only three or four countries and we can think of their players and prepare [and try to win medals].”

Having narrowed down on this immediate goal, Ghosh has also begun his preparations early. “Last time [in 2014], I started my preparation just three or four months before the tournament.

“Now, I know the value [of the Commonwealth Games]. I would like to give my best. I will try to win as many medals as I can, [in] singles, mixed doubles and men’s doubles.”