Roy is ready to take over the reins

Earlier, he had accounted for Raman at the Khar Gymkhana in Mumbai and had showed glimpses of his potential by subduing Arup Basak during the All- India Top Ten tournament in Chennai and bagged two bronze medals in the Asian Junior Championships at the same venue.

Soon after beating Baboor in the final, Soumyadeep paid tributes to his idol, saying, ‘‘I owe him a lot for helping me improve my game.’’ For the past three years, Soumyadeep has been a regular member of the Indian camp where playing regularly against quality players has helped him to improve his game.Soumyadeep believes in the power game and gives full credit to the Chinese coach for giving him confidence. ‘‘I never feel dismayed with defeat but try to learn from the mistakes,’’ he had said after his loss in the individual events at the Lucknow Nationals. Those who have been following the steady progress of this youngster were well aware of his talent and determination to go further up.

The triumph of Soumyadeep Roy and Poulami Ghatak’s second National crown in the women’s singles at Cuttack once again point to the depth of talent that Bengal continues to churn out. It augurs well for Indian table tennis that a second line of champions is ready to take over the reins from the experienced stars. Both the teenagers are attaking players and can serve Indian sports for a longer period if only they continue their hard work and commitment to the game.