Paddle Shift

The game was a part of the team event,and later saw Grover team up with Abhishek Yadav to beat on He and Iranin Nia Sooroosh Amiri to take their India ‘A’ team to the tomorrow’s semifinals in the junior boys category. “He may have been unranked,but the Chinese are always favourites when it comes to table tennis,” he says. “It was a great feeling to win the games. I had a good lead in my singles game but I knew that the Chinese always catch up. I’m very happy with my performance,” he claims.

He and left-handed Yadav won their doubles game 11-3,11-7,11-9. “Abhishek and I have similar styles because we both like to attack. The left-right combination also gives us and upper hand and now we’re very confident for the games ahead.” says Grover.

Originally from New Delhi,the 18-year old left home to enroll in the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) Academy in Ajmer at the age of 11 to train in the sport. “I’ve lived away from home for seven years now,” he says. “The first two years were difficult because I missed home,but then my passion for the sport grew and I soon became addicted. I started taking my training very seriously and then my performances started improving. I’ve become used to living away from home,but I still enjoy going back to Delhi during my vacations,” he concludes.

Introduced to the sport by his father,Narender at an early age,the current junior world 95 claims to have started playing as a mere hobby. “My dad used to play during his college days and he got my sister and me to start playing. I used to play against my dad for fun,but then I watched a few games on TV with him,and I was fascinated,” he says. When asked if his sister still plays the game,he laughs and says,”she stopped because she wanted to study.”

Grover is currently fourth in India in the under-21 category,and until last year,used to be second in the junior division. “The high rank gives me a little pressure before games because I know that I will lose my rank if I lose the game. But I never think about the ranks when I’m playing,” he says.

Claiming to possess an aggressive mindset during his games,Grover mentions that his pre-match ritual aids his style of play. “I listen to rock music before my games,” he says. “There is no particular band that I listen to. It just has to be heavy metal,and has to be played at high volume on my headphones. It gets the adrenalin pumping,” he says,smiling broadly.

Currently a first year Bachelors in Commerce student at the Jaipur National University through the distant education program,the youngster wishes to attain a Masters degree before continuing to pursue a career in table tennis.