New Delhi, 26 August (H.S.): Ahead of the 2026 Asian Games, Indian table tennis prospect Syndrela Das has been inducted into the Development Group of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). The 17-year-old from Kolkata has earned the recognition following a series of impressive performances in recent months. Alongside Das, men’s doubles players Payas Jain and Ankur Bhattacharjee are also part of the TOPS Development Group.

Syndrela Das won a silver medal in the girls’ doubles event and a bronze in singles at the Asian Youth Championships held in Thailand earlier this year. Following those performances, she was included in the TOPS Development category. She had earlier demonstrated her potential in 2023 by winning national ranking titles in the U-15, U-17 and U-19 singles categories.

Earlier this year, TOPS created a dedicated group for young table tennis players aged between 14 and 17. Das was also part of this initiative, which is aimed at nurturing India’s emerging talent for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympic Games.

India’s 10-member table tennis squad for the 2026 Asian Games comprises Syndrela Das, Sreeja Akula, Diya Chitale, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Sathiyan, Manav Shah, Manav Thakkar, Harmeet Desai and Payas Jain.

Meanwhile, the Mission Olympic Cell has approved financial assistance for India’s top-ranked women’s table tennis player, Manika Batra, to compete in WTT Contender tournaments in Bulgaria and Kazakhstan in September.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar