The elite players convened in Houston, there they were to be grouped on skill level and play against one another until they were knocked out. The last one standing would be considered victorious.

Last weekend, there was a massive table tennis tournament in Houston that involved players from the state, country and even from abroad. One of those players as Vandegrift student Sarthak Gupta. 

“In most other countries except for America, especially in Asia, Ping Pong is referred to as table tennis,” Sarthak said. “It’s really competitive and you practice a lot of hours every week.”  

Sarthak got into table tennis when he was about 10 years old and still living in India. He first played it at a hotel and has been playing it every since.

At the event, the players were divided into separate divisions based on their skill level with Sarthak being assigned to A Division. 

“You play other people within your division and then once you move into the knockouts you play until you get eliminated,” Sarthak said.  

At the event, Sarthak managed to make it to the quarter finals before being knocked out by one of the best table tennis players in China. 

“The sport of table tennis specifically, it’s not really popular in the U.S. and most people go by Ping Pong,” Sarthak said. 

However, it is actually a very competitive sport, it requires lots of training and practice as well as athleticism. It requires tons of practice to hone your skill, and it is an Olympic Sport.

He practices table tennis 10 hours a week at the Austin Table Tennis Club. He also has several friends whom he plays table tennis with.

“I think he is a wonderful player,” fellow player Samuel Tao said. “He can crush me in a match.”

Sarthak hopes to continue Table Tennis as a hobby, albeit more for recreation after he reaches adulthood. He wants to also spread awareness about the sport so that more will play and start a club here at Vandegrift.

A couple weeks ago, Sarthak went to another tournament where he actually managed to win second place, nevertheless, he managed to go 16 rounds at the tournament in Division A before getting knocked out by the eventual champion, proving Vandegrift has an elite player in our ranks.

Update: Sarthak went to another Table Tennis tournament in Dallas.  There he managed to beat many high ranking players and dropped only one set in the process.  Next month he is also participating in the U.S. Open which will have some of the best players in the world.