Over two dozen contestants went to the Nashua Table Tennis Club on Saturday, September 17th, at 9:00 A.M. All were there for the same reason; to win the third-annual IANH Table Tennis Tournament. The participants competed one-on-one, and the winner of each pair had to win at least 3 of 5 matches. The people who won the most matches were crowned as winners.

At the front desk, ready to take attendance, payments, and money for pizza tickets, were Mrs. Vandana Dhakar, Mrs. Jyothi Sharma, and Mr. Anmol Wadhwa. After everyone had gathered at the venue, Mr. Wadhwa separated the contestants into two different categories; participants under and over the age of 15, into teams of five people each. Then, the IANH Table Tennis Tournament began. Viewers were astounded by a terrific display of rallies. Some of the girls who came to participate in the tournament, Janani Sharma and Tamanna Asarpota, practiced with the Robo Pong, an interactive robot that shoots out ping-pong balls and simulates a human player, as they waited for their turns on the table.

After numerous, grueling rounds of competition, the winners were finally determined. In first place for the competitors under 15 was Sumeet Salvi. Last year, Sumeet won third place in this tournament, and had returned with a vengeance to win first place this year. “It shows how much I’ve improved,” said Sumeet proudly. He practiced for a week before the tournament, and won every single match he played. In second place was Amol Khanna, who started playing table tennis at age 3, practicing for 30 minutes every day. Winning third place was Kasyup Venthrupalli. “I feel like I could’ve done better. But I had fun, which is all that matters,” commented Kasyup sportively.

As for the winners of the over 15 category, first place was awarded to Arjun Tikku. Already having participated in two high school table tennis tournaments, Arjun is an experienced player who has played his entire life. In second place was Akshay Kothare, who has been playing table tennis for 5-6 years. He goes to the Nashua Table Tennis Club to practice every week, and, coincidentally, sometimes plays against Arjun himself. In third place was Sean Rowe, from Haverhill, MA, who confessed to not practicing for this tournament. “Actually I’m surprised I won. Very surprised,” adds Sean modestly.

Thanks to all who made this event a huge success!

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