Anusha Kutumbale targets consistency in new table tennis season

Anusha Kutumbale, the 23-year-old paddler from Indore, enters the new domestic season at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis tournament in Kanpur with renewed confidence. She played a key role in U Mumba TT's successful Ultimate Table Tennis title defence in July and reached the WTT Feeder final in Vadodara in January. However, last season ended in disappointment as she finished seventh in the national rankings and narrowly missed selection for India's Asian Games squad.

Rather than dwell on the setback, Anusha focused on fitness. She joined Athletes Aura, a performance centre in Indore, and worked on getting leaner, stronger, and improving core strength. The results were evident when she played four matches in a day at the Vadodara national ranking and woke up ready for a semifinal against Diya Chitale, a sign that her fitness work had paid off.

Anusha credits her father Shreesh, who has been her coach and mentor, as her backbone. Despite emotional fights and tantrums during matches, they consciously keep their relationship separate from the sport. She now focuses on the next point, match, and tournament, leaving long-term planning to her father.