Ankolika Chakrabarty, one of Bengal's most promising female table tennis players made a silent history by clinching the 'triple crown' in the WTT Youth Contender championship at Batumi in Georgia recently. 

She won in the under-13 category beating world-ranked 12, A. Kamalova of Uzbekistan. She stunned world-ranked 16 Vania Yavari of Iran in the singles' final for under-15 and also the mixed doubles in the under-19 age group, defeating Belgium’s number one ranked paddler in the youth category Tom Closset and A. Laman. 

Ankolika however pointed out her most memorable match in the tour beating Tom Closset in the mixed doubles saying, “I cherished most after defeating the top paddler like Closset.”

Commenting on his student’s performance, Ankolika's coach Prasenjit Sarkar explained, "The usage of pimpled rubbers has helped her to compete with the world's top-quality players. But usage of pimpled rubbers is not easy. A lot of hard work is needed to master controlling the game with this rubber."

Ankolika who is presently the country's second-ranked paddler in the under-13 age group divulged she practices six to seven hours every day to master controlling the character of the pimpled rubber.

However, Sarkar regretted the lack of financial assistance for Ankolika. He added, "Unless she takes part in the international competitions she will not be able to reach the next level. Playing in one international competition needs nearly Rs 1 lakh. In the case of her Georgia tour or Kazakhstan trip, the total expenses were borne by me and my wife Tapasi Sarkar who also was a national-level paddler.”

Now they are trying to send Ankolika to another forthcoming WTT Youth Contender championship in Hungary. Sarkar said, "If Ankolika can take part in a couple of international competitions, she can even place herself within the top 10 in the world in the under-13 age group considering her form. However financial constraint is a major obstruction. Still, we will not give up."