Ayhika Mukherjee is an Indian table tennis player. He represented the Indian team for the 2018 and 2022 Asian Games. At the 2023 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, Ayhika Mukherjee and her partner Sutirtha won the bronze medal in the women’s doubles table tennis event.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ayhika Mukherjee was born on Tuesday, 10 June 1997 (age 26 years; as of 2023) in Naihati, West Bengal, India. His zodiac sign is Gemini.
Ayhika Mukherjee’s childhood picture
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 3″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
Ayhika’s father Gautam Mukherjee was working in the Border Security Force (BSF). He left his job in 2010 to train and support Ayihika. His mother Soma Mukherjee is a housewife. Recalling the social injustice, prejudices and struggles faced by the family in their early days, he said,
When she was little, no one supported our decision to let her play. People often ask me, ‘What will Ayhika achieve by playing table tennis?’ Unacceptable comments were also made on her attire. But his father, uncle and aunt always supported him.
Ayhika Mukherjee with her parents
livelihood
Ayhika’s journey in table tennis spans two decades. Initially, he started his professional training for table tennis at the Youth Association Club in Naihati, under the guidance of coach Mihir Ghosh. He won all state-ranking tournaments in 2008. His inclination towards sports was due to his mother. In an interview, he recalled,
A big reason for me choosing sports is my mother. In West Bengal, it is very common for parents to enroll their daughters in singing or dancing classes at an early age, but my mother wanted something different for me. She wanted me to join sports.”
He is one of three former RP-SG Mavericks paddlers who were part of the Puneri Paltan in Ultimate Table Tennis Season 3.
Ayhika Mukherjee playing for Puneri Paltan in Ultimate Table Tennis 2019
In 2022, he started his training under former international table tennis player Subhajit Saha. He shared his training routine in an interview. He said,
I start my day with a gym session at 7 am. I start my table tennis training around 10 in the morning and continue till 4 in the evening. Although it takes around two hours to reach the academy and back, I am confident about my preparations.”
In 2023, she partnered with Sutirtha Mukherjee in women’s doubles. In an interview he told how the two came together as a team. He said,
So I know Sutirtha since childhood because we used to play together in the academy. Since 2006-07, I have known Sutirtha. Earlier, we didn’t play doubles together, but recently, we started playing doubles because we thought it would be cool. And yes, we were right.”
Ayhika’s journey with significant wins includes the World Table Tennis (WTT) title, a silver medal at the 2019 South Asian Games in the table tennis doubles category and a historic win in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asian Games. Ayhika and Sutirtha became India’s first women’s doubles pair to win a table tennis medal at the Asian Games by defeating world champions Chen Meng and Yidi Wang of China. She gave India its third table tennis medal at the Games after the men’s team and Manika Batra-Sharath Kamal mixed team in Jakarta in 2018.
Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee at the Asian Games Championship
On their achievement, former table tennis player Somoydeep Roy, who also trains the duo at his academy in Kolkata, said,
Asian Games TT medals are equivalent to Olympic medals, especially among women. What he has achieved today will be recorded in the books.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated both of them by tweeting.
Congratulations to Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee on winning bronze medals. It is a special win as it is India’s first medal in the women’s doubles event at the Asian Games. Their dedication, skill and teamwork is exemplary. pic.twitter.com/wVK2WOShRk
-Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 2 October 2023
The defeated Chinese pair of Sutirtha and Ayihika had 12 World Championship medals to their name.
controversies
Dropped from squad for Birmingham Commonwealth Games
Several experienced players, who were dropped from the squad after the squad for Birmingham Commonwealth 2022 was announced by the Committee of Administrators in 2022, raised allegations of foul play. Ayhika Mukherjee was also among those who were removed. In an interview he said,
Incredible! I can’t believe they have selected the team like this again. In 2018, even before the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the selection process was not made clear and even now, I cannot understand how they selected the team.
Without making any transparent basis for the selection of players, along with Ayhika, Tokyo Olympian Suthirta Mukherjee was also dropped from the team. Other players like Swatika Ghosh, who was India’s No. 4 player, took to social media platforms to seek justice in the case, while Divya Chitale and a few others approached the Delhi High Court to grant a stay on team selection and A writ petition was filed in. A fair decision.
medal
Sleep
- Winner in State Championship 2018
Ayhika Mukherjee receives her medal at the State Championship 2018
- Winner in Senior National Championship, Team Event Category in 2019
- Winner in South Zone Championship, Women’s Singles, 2019
- Women’s Singles Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Championships in Cuttack, Odisha in 2019
- Winner in Senior National Championship in 2022
Ayhika Mukherjee after victory in Senior National Championship 2022
silver
- Semi-finalist in singles category at Senior National Championship in 2018
- Silver medalist in Under-21 category at Belgian Open 2022
- Silver Medal in Women’s Double, WTT Contenders, Muscat 2022
Brass
- Women’s doubles table tennis at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China,
Ayahika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee after receiving medals at the Asian Games Championships, 2023
Awards and honors
She received the Khel Samman Award in 2019 as well as a special award from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her performance in table tennis.
Ayhika Mukherjee received Khel Samman Award in 2019
Favorite
- Food: Ayhika has a sweet tooth and loves eating donuts.
Ayhika Mukherjee eating donuts
- Table tennis player: Tiago Apolonia
Facts/General Knowledge
- As of September 2023, his ranking is 177.
- His signature shot is a backhand block.
- Ayhika Mukherjee is a right-handed player.
- Ayhika’s playing style is shakehand and his skill set is more offensive.
- Ayhika’s highest rank was 95 in October 2019.
- Since Ayhika and Suthiratha have the same surname and are childhood friends from the same city, they get confused as sisters and are often referred to as the ‘Mukherjee sisters’.
- Under the women’s doubles category, Ayhika and Suthirta are ranked 16th in the world till 2023.
- In March 2023, Ayhika was featured in Sananda magazine for her performance and achievement in table tennis.
Ayhika Mukherjee featured in Sanand Patrika, 2023
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn