The Kolkata girl has made punching above her weight a habit. She claimed triple National Ranking age-group titles (U15, U17 and U19 singles) in 2023 and graduated to the domestic seniors in style, making the women’s singles semi-finals in 2025 and final this year. Her most memorable moment followed in Goa, where she beat childhood idol Manika Batra 3-0 in her maiden UTT edition.

Manika later said that despite her loss, she “was really happy” with the way Syndrela performed. “I respect and love Manika di a lot. I feel great that she thinks Indian table tennis is in good hands. I will keep idolising her,” Syndrela tells The Indian Express.

For this Standard 12 student, academics go hand-in-hand with sport. Syndrela has chosen a unique combination: mathematics alongside the humanities stream. (UTT)

For this Standard 12 student, academics go hand-in-hand with sport. Syndrela has chosen a unique combination: mathematics alongside the humanities stream. While mathematics “keeps her brain active”, psychology aids in understanding opponents’ thought processes. She cites an instance: “Our body releases adrenaline when we are very nervous or excited. Both of them help, but one stops us from excelling, and the other facilitates it.”

Even before she took up the subject, Syndrela had exhibited remarkable mental toughness in what she calls the turning point of her life. She broke her right (playing) wrist around the time she had begun playing at the national level in 2021. After the initial shock, she vowed to use the setback as motivation and return stronger.

Two-time Olympian Soumyajit Ghosh, who has followed her game closely, narrated how she visited the academy with a plaster in her hand and watched others play.

Mental Edge

Like Syndrela, Soumyajit, too, experienced early success as a teenager – he was the youngest Indian player to qualify for the 2012 Olympics and the youngest national champion at 19. But he reckoned Syndrela was built for greater things. “She is more talented than me and more hard-working. Normally I don’t praise anyone so much, but she is different. She is special.”

The Kolkata girl has made punching above her weight a habit. She claimed triple National Ranking age-group titles (U15, U17 and U19 singles) in 2023 and graduated to the domestic seniors in style, making the women’s singles semi-finals in 2025 and final this year. (UTT)

Soumyajit added that he has never seen her nervous. “Regardless of the scoreline, her approach is always aggressive. She picks up strokes quickly, and the way she hits the ball, she makes it look so easy.”

Her coach Soumyadeep Roy singled out Syndrela’s backhand as her primary weapon and reiterated that fearlessness was her greatest asset. “The good thing about this generation is, they’re not afraid of anybody on the table. Even when she plays the world number one, her attitude will stay the same. She plays with the same aggression, hunger to win and belief.”

While the Arjuna awardee felt her ward was “ready to face any kind of challenge” at the Asiad and otherwise, he sounded a word of caution. “The only thing I’m worried about, especially at events like the Asian Games, is that she’s very young and there she will see stars from all sports… It’s okay to get excited when you meet your childhood stars, so we were when we started. You just have to stay grounded and keep working, cut out the distractions.”

Soumyadeep travels with Syndrela wherever possible to try and ensure that. He knows that things will only get tougher from here on, since “she will be marked and everybody would want to beat her.”

Amid hectic tournament travel and soaring expectations, a supporting family is a boon for the paddler. “Most parents want their children to continue doing whatever they have done in their own lives. But my parents never forced me to play TT or to study. They just want me to love what I do, and I play the game because of my passion towards it.”

That passion comes with the ambition of qualifying for LA 2028 and winning Olympic gold one day. Some might deem the latter goal lofty, but not Soumyajit. “We never know what she’ll win and how far she’ll go. Sky is the limit for her.”