Neha Aggarwal – On a Mission

Neha Aggarwal is a retired Indian professional table tennis player, India’s No. 1 and the only women’s table tennis player who to represent India in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. She was the youngest table tennis player at the age of 18, male or female, to participate in the Olympics for India in table tennis. She has claimed four National Championship titles and over 40 International medals over a span of 13 years of her prime career.

Neha was born on Jan 11, 1990, and brought up in New Delhi, India. She went to the R. K. Puram Public School in Delhi and graduated from St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi. She started playing table tennis at the age of seven, mainly to hang around with her brother, and soon developed a love for the sport, practicing it all the time. At only 11 years old, she won her first National Junior table tennis title. At that time, the Indian national team coach predicted that her unique style of play would not bring her more success as she moved to the senior category. To the contrary, she went on to win three more national championships and numerous prestigious international tournaments. She became the No. 1 junior player in the country, winning the gold medal in doubles at the world cadet tournament (representing Asia, partnering with a South Korean player).

In 2008, Neha qualified for Beijing Olympics by defeating the top two Indian national players, thus becoming the youngest to qualify. Feeling the weight of the nation’s expectations, she lost in the first round and realized that she was not fully prepared to win an Olympic medal. After winning the gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games, Neha’s streak began to slow down. Neha lost the national title and fell below the Indian top 16. It took another four grueling years to get back to the top 5 and qualify for the Asian games.

Neha did not want the next generation of Indian athletes to go through the struggles that she underwent competing at the Olympic level. With a vision of making a difference in India’s Olympic dreams, Neha joined hands with retired Indian athletes at the Olympic Gold Quest. OGQ helps in identifying and funding Indian medal prospects for the Olympic Games. In the past two Olympics, 5 out of 8 Olympic medals were won by OGQ-supported Indian athletes. Neha’s competitive spirit and desire to give back to her countrymen and women continues to strengthen Indian table tennis competitors today.