When Syndrela Das was asked whether her family had another sportsperson, she casually name-dropped Krishanu Dey. For the uninitiated, Dey was known as the ‘Indian Maradona’ during his playing days around Kolkata’s maidan.
The footballer unfortunately passed away in 2003. Six years after her jethu’s (father’s brother/cousin) passing, Syndrela was born.
“I really wish I could have met him. If he were alive, he would be proud to have another sportsperson in the family,” the teen, a table tennis player, says.
Unlike her almost-namesake, the famed mythical princess, Syndrela doesn’t have to worry about a midnight curfew. For the past few days, she’s been jumping time zones, travelling to Goa from Bangkok for the seventh season of the Ultimate Table Tennis. From Thailand, at the Asian Youth Championships, she brought back a bronze in singles and a silver in doubles, partnering Divyanshi Bhowmick.
“The last few days have been tiring, but now I’m enjoying,” she succinctly summarised while speaking to Sportstar from her hotel room on the eve of UTT 2026.
A few first times
Donning the colours of two-time champion Goa Challengers, this would be the first time that Syndrela will be playing in the franchise-based league.
“I was in London for the World Team Championships and we were all in the practice hall watching the auction. My name eventually came up and I was excited to see which team I would go to. But Parag [Agrawal] sir had told me before that, no matter what happens, he’s going to pick me. And he was also going to try for Alvaro [Robles] and Bernie [Bernadette Szocs]. And I personally love Bernie as a player and I see her as an idol because I like her style. So I was very excited when I saw that Bernie was also in my team,” she recalls.
But the train of good news did not stop at the London station. Last month, when she was playing at the WTT Star Contender in Ljubljana, Slovenia, her phone chimed.
“I was just going through my phone when I saw this message from my coach. He had sent me the official selection letter for the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Championships. I also got to know that I was the youngest player on the team. I then called my parents and told them the news,” the 16-year-old says.
While Syndrela is looking forward to ticking Japan off her travel bucket list when she goes to the Asiad, her breakthrough to the senior set-up has been a result of her rapid rise, especially in the domestic circuit, over the last few years.
Early days, and a steep graph
Hailing from Kolkata’s Baghajatin, her parents’ table tennis expertise dating back to their college days was enough for them to put their daughter into a nearby club. She was all of four years old.
“I used to draw, sing, dance, play badminton, and swim. I really liked swimming but had to give it up after the chlorine would affect my skin. Then I won a mixed table tennis tournament, which was held in the local club. I won against a boy in the final, and when I saw the medal and the trophy, I was really happy. I wanted more,” she explains.
Another instance which drew Syndrela more towards the sport was the UTT 2018 edition held in Kolkata. “I went to watch it and saw different players. I really wanted to play there myself one day.”
This is when she got to know about Soumyadeep Roy’s academy, barely five minutes from her house. However, the former national champion and Arjuna Awardee was hesitant to take her in.
A week after the Senior Nationals in late March, where she finished runner-up, Syndrela was 178 in the world. Now, she sits at 115. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“When she was about 8 or 9, her mother called me and told me that her daughter had just started playing and wanted to join my academy. I was hesitant to take such a young player because I usually train those who were already playing sub-junior or junior level. I started coaching in 2015, a year after I stopped playing with the national team. I started with Ronit Bhanja, Arjun Ghosh, Sutirtha Mukherjee among others. I had plans to train kids later on, but not right at the start. But Syndrela’s mother requested and I asked her to bring her in. On the very first day, I saw some spark in her. Something was different. Then I thought, ‘okay, let’s start my beginners’ plan with this child’,” Roy explains.
During her beginner days, Syndrela would play with normal rubber on both sides of her racquet. She would go to a few tournaments but lose and come back, Soumyadeep says.
“Then we decided to put short pimples, which are known to be attacking, on her forehand. Her grasping power was quite good and she would pick up things quickly. She began to practice the forehand technique with those pimples quite well,” the coach adds.
In 2021, she won her first national ranking tournament in the Under-13 category. But a few months preceding that maiden win, Syndrela had broken her playing wrist while playing dodgeball. This incident, she feels, was seminal for her career. She says her game took off only after this event.
“If you look at her growth chart from 2021 to now, it’s been very steep,” Roy begins. But quickly adds he felt the graph plateauing in the middle. However, Syndrela pulled off something incredible in 2023. At the Ranking Tournament, she won an unprecedented triple crown in U-15, U-17, and U-19.
“People had done a double before that, but this was unimaginable. She was 14. I also made her play in the women’s category, and she reached the last 16. From then on, our planning for her was different. The immediate target was how to get her into the national teams of these age groups,” Roy says. “In training too, I’ve seen her grow. Whatever short-term goals we have, she’s always surpassed them. We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had the financial backing from the Dhanuka Dhunseri Foundation, which didn’t limit my plans.”
A future top 20 player?
Apart from being a fan of Szocs, who’s World No. 25, Syndrela also hopes to emulate China’s Wang Manyu, the current World No. 2.
“She’s also an aggressive player, and I really look up to her because she has a good fighting spirit, is very versatile, and I like her style,” she explains.
Speaking of rankings, Syndrela herself has had a massive jump in the last three months. A week after the Senior Nationals in late March, where she finished runner-up, Syndrela was 178 in the world. Now, she sits at 115.
“I’d say her real standard is around World No. 18 or 19. Now the next target would be to break into the top 50, and then into the top 20,” Roy said, saying the tough part for this year was finding the right balance between playing youth tournaments and being with the senior team at major competitions.
But is Syndrela achieving something never-seen-before in the country’s table tennis circuit? Yes and no, according to Roy.
“If you talk about records, I don’t think there’s been anyone who’s bordering the top 100 at the age of 16. The only names that come to my mind are Mouma Das and Poulomi Ghatak, who became national champions at around this age and broke into the senior team. Our advantage is that we have the support and framework. But yes, game-wise, she has similarities with Sutirtha, her club-mate and my other student. She also plays with the same combination of rubbers. Their base is the same, but they have their own USPs,” he explains.
“I’d say her real standard is around World No. 18 or 19. Now the next target would be to break into the top 50, and then into the top 20,” Roy said. | Photo Credit: Soumyadeep Roy/Instagram
With Goa Challengers taking on defending champion U Mumba on Thursday, Syndrela hopes that her young side can go all the way. But after this league, the Commonwealth Championships, Asian Games, and the Youth Olympics await her.
“[At the Asiad] I’m looking forward to seeing how players prepare at such a big event. I’ll also be keen on being with my team, and the atmosphere,” she added.
But Roy feels his young ward deserves to be one of the playing members of the squad.
“She’s capable of playing a role. It’s not like they are just taking her because she’s a young player. She’s beaten almost everyone on the circuit over the last two years and become the second-best ranked player in the senior level. She’s proven her mettle and I think she’s ready. She’s very fearless and that’s her USP, the coach has to understand. This is prevalent amongst all the younger crop of players. They are not scared to take on anyone. If there’s a Chinese player at the other end, they think they can beat them, and they even do,” he concludes.
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Published on Jul 09, 2026