KIYG 2025: With dreams of playing for India, TT player Nilanjana Sharma, 8, takes baby steps to stardom

Rajgir (Bihar), May 8 (IANS) In a melee of 6500 athletes participating in the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games 2025, an 8-year-old athlete, the youngest in the entire tournament, is making her mark in the table tennis competition.

Hailing from Muzaffarpur district in Bihar, Nilanjana Sharma is excited to make her debut in the Khelo India Youth Games, which is giving her a platform to showcase her talent.

She is being trained by her father, Niranjan Kumar, an ex-football player, who is a sports teacher at DAV Public School in Muzaffarpur. Nilanjana began her training at the age of three.

Talking to SAI Media, Niranjan said, “I wanted Nilanjana to play lawn tennis, but I dropped this thought due to a lack of good facilities. Only when I realised that she had a massive interest in table tennis, I begin to train her, which I continue to do today as well. It is purely her passion and love for sport that is pushing her forward.”

Winning gold at the Under-11 Bihar State Championship in 2022 is a testament to Nilanjana’s immense talent. Thereafter, she came runner-up in both the U-13 and U-15 categories of the same tournament later that year. In the 2023 Bihar State Championship, Nilanjana emerged as the champion in the U-11 class. In 2024, she won both the U-11 and U-13 titles. She came second in the U-15 category the same year.

Bihar table tennis head coach Rahul Kumar confirmed: “Nilanjana Sharma is the youngest participant in the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games.”

Asked what is her ultimate target, Nilanjana said: “I want to represent India in international tournaments and make my parents proud.”

Nilanjana’s story only proves that one can achieve any goal with hard work and dedication. Nilanjana’s participation in the Khelo India Youth Games is a matter of great pride for not only Bihar but the entire nation. This is a testimonial to the fact that how Khelo India is scouting and grooming talent from various nooks and corners of the sub-continent.

--IANS

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