The rhythmic thud of a ping-pong ball echoes in Disha Bhattacharyya’s ears and motivates her next move.
Will she choose to execute a forehand drive, a backhand push, or a smash? She chooses a smash and the ball bounces hard on the wooden table.
Each bounce is a step closer to her dream of joining the USA Women’s Table Tennis Team and meeting her role model, American table tennis player Lily Zhang.
Bhattacharyya, a Cal High freshman, is a nationally ranked competitive table tennis player. She is currently ranked No. 1,786, according to USA Table Tennis.
The ranking is decided by an average of the players’ largest victory win and their biggest defeat. These wins and defeats are determined by the rankings of the players’ opponents.
The higher the number, the better, so Bhattacharyya’s goal is to go further in the sport and reach No. 2,000.
According to Racket Insight, players rated No. 2,100 and above are in the top 8%. With strong inspiration, Bhattacharyya plans to reach her goal.
Bhattacharyya’s father, Debraj, inspired her to start playing table tennis because he played competitively at a young age and thought it would only be right for him to help others.
Luckily, his daughter loved the sport and quickly took it up when she was five years old.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Bhattacharyya has played in one US National Championship and two US Open Championships. She placed three times in the US National in the summer of 2024, winning a gold, silver, and bronze medal.
So far, Bhattacharyya has earned eight medals, four trophies, and countless numbers of certificates. Achieving all this hasn’t been easy, but she has demonstrated the necessary drive by practicing two to three hours daily.
“I find it very important to practice for whatever you want, so that in the future you can achieve your goals, “ Bhattacharyya said. “It’s like the quote, practice makes perfect. I try to keep that goal in mind whenever I practice.”
These long training hours include a variety of activities, such as playing at home with her father and utilizing a mechanical robot that shoots balls for her to hit. Bhattacharyya uses her training time to work on improving weak areas and getting better at receiving serves.
Bhattacharyya plays with Micro Motion Table Tennis Academy in Pleasanton, and she is coached by Jordan Yee and Boliang Lyu.
Lyu, who is the owner of the academy, admires Bhattacharyya’s playing tactics.
“[Her] strategy is very good,” Lyu said. “[She] always uses smart strategy to win the game.”
Bhattacharyya’s ambition is to join the USA Women’s Table Tennis Team in the future and meet her role model, Zhang. The team is made up of eight women, one of whom is Zhang.
Zhang started training at seven years old and competed in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. She has won six US National Table Tennis Championships in the women’s singles division.
To meet Zhang, Bhattacharyya has to improve her ranking and earn more recognition by playing in bi-monthly table tennis tournaments and weekend leagues.
These tournaments start with round-robin groups in which the top players advance to the single elimination rounds. Miniature tournaments can last two days, while major tournaments can go up to a week.
Bhattacharyya plays these games solo or with her doubles partner, Raghav Shah, who is an eighth-grader at Cottonwood Creek Middle School in Dublin.
Shah has played with Bhattacharyya for almost a year and commends her strong qualities, such as her leadership, friendliness, and skilled athleticism.
“She’s nice and supportive if you miss the shot or you’re down in the match,” Shah said. “She has a good personality overall.”
Despite her rigorous training and many accomplishments, Bhattacharyya loses a game from time to time.
When she has a weak match, she doesn’t agonize over the loss. Instead, she works with her coaches to figure out what she needs to practice on the most.
“If I lose a really close game, like 13-11, I feel very emotional because I lost,” Bhattacharyya said. “In my mind I’m like, ‘If you just got to the [semifinals] you could’ve gotten a medal’.”
Losing neck-to-neck games is very disappointing to Bhattacharyya, but her father tries his best to encourage her and provide the proper perspective.
“In sports, not every day is a win,” he said. “[I try to make her] understand that there’s nothing called loss or losing a game, but it’s only [about what’s-] learned from a loss.”
No matter the highs or lows, Bhattacharyya is hopeful that she can play this sport for her whole life and help her community along the way.
“I’ve been talking to the city of San Ramon about starting a community service club where I’m with the elderly,” Bhattacharyya said. “I’ll give them tables to play [on] and [I’ll] teach them.”
Freshman Anishka Jaideep, Bhattacharyya’s close friend, is familiar with her friend’s rigorous training, but stays committed to keeping Bhattacharyya motivated in reaching for her dreams.
“I encourage [Bhattacharyya] because I know she’s a really amazing player,” Jaideep said. “She can go really far in her table tennis journey.”
With the support of her friends and family, Bhattacharyya said she feels ready for whatever will come next and wants to take her journey one ping pong ball bounce at a time.