Mathan Rajan wins bronze in maiden international event in Sweden

In her maiden appearance at an International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) junior circuit event, Mathan Rajan Hansini put up an impressive performance by bagging the bronze medal in the Mini-Cadet Girls' Singles category at the Swedish Junior and Cadet Open in Orebro, Sweden on Saturday.

Chennai's table tennis prodigy, the 10-year-old Class V student started her main draw challenge after a couple of wins in the group stages before going down to Russia's Iuliia Pugovkina 12-10, 9-11, 5-11, 8-11 in a gruelling semi-final match.

In the main draw, she beat Russia's Aleksandra Bokova 12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 3-11 in the Round of 16 and notched up a commanding 11-3, 12-10, 11-9 win over Isha Bajpai of the USA in the quarter-finals.

Under the tutelage of Muralidhara Rao, who has experience of coaching top paddlers in the country such as Sharath Kamal and K Shamini, the 2028 Olympic medal prospect has been honing her skills at the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT)-backed SDAT AKG Table Tennis Development Centre in Chennai.

It has helped her make rapid strides in the sport as validated by her bronze medal win in cadet girls' singles at the 2019 UTT 81st National Table Tennis Championships.

Meanwhile, in the Cadet Girls' Singles section, another of India's upcoming talents, Suhana Saini reached the Round of 16 while in the Cadet Boys' Singles section, rising star Suresh Raj Preyesh too made it to the pre-quarters.