Pimpled Rubber In Her Hand, Yashaswini Ghorpade Looks To Make Her Name On The Big Stage

Last Updated:June 13, 2025, 12:44 IST

Yashaswini Ghorpade, 20, from Bangalore, is excelling in international table tennis. Ranked 81, she has led U Mumba TT to the UTT semifinals.

Yashaswini Ghorpade is one of the star players for U Mumba TT (Picture credit: UTT)

Bengaluru girl Yashaswini Ghorpade is now a big name among the young Indians, making their mark in the international circuit. Currently ranked 81 in the senior circuit, the 20-year-old looks a confident girl when she is at play, unafraid to take anyone down, even if they come with years of experience way more than hers.

Representing U Mumba TT at the ongoing Ultimate Table Tennis Season 6 in Ahmedabad, the youngster has played a massive role in helping the team qualify for the semifinals.

Last week, Yashaswini took down Fan Siqi, the world No. 35 and a very experienced player on the circuit. She won the first game against Siqi, lost the second and in the third, held on to her nerves on a golden point to stun the higher-ranked Chinese.

Asked what her thought process was on that day, Yashaswini told News18 Sports, “I did enjoy the moment, I would say. I was nervous, but I told myself to enjoy the game. It’s very nice. It was a great feeling. I am really happy about it."

Yashaswini uses a pimpled rubber on her racquet. It is a rubber with a large contact area for the ball, which makes it easy to impart spin, but she admits that it is not easy for her to handle it at all times, either.

“It is surely tough for the opponent to play against us because it’s not normal. The balls go in the opposite spin direction to the regular ones. But I also feel it’s not easy for us to use the rubbers," Yashaswini says.

“It’s very tough to control, and I’ve been using it for quite a long time, and I’m still learning how to do variations with it, twiddling the racket and getting more attacks and getting more advantage, making more advantage of it and getting an attack. So, I would also say it’s not easy for me to play with it," Yashaswini adds.

A lot is happening around the youngster at the age of 20. The UTT began late May, and with U Mumba qualifying for the semis, Yashaswini’s stay in Ahmedabad will just get longer.

So, how does she unwind when there are gaps between matches?

“I would like to sleep more, recover well, and use some recovery stuff like sauna, cold showers and some NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest)," Yashaswini says.

India has been taking part in Table Tennis events at the Olympics since its inclusion in 1988, but the search for a first medal is still on.

Asked what the Indian table tennis fraternity can do better in LA 2028 to break this three-decade-long drought, Yashaswini says, “With the next Olympics, we have mixed team and also men’s doubles and women’s doubles as an event. So, preparing everyone together, training together would be very important in the coming long years, and let’s see… I don’t know what the future will hold for us. But of course, every one of us will give 100% for Team India."

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