Kanak Jha is US star for Rio |
Rajul Sheth who was spending nearly 50 hours a week fuelling cars at a gas station in Bay Area, California , is fuelling an American dream in Table tennis today. Sheth, who is originally from Vadodara, has been at the helm of this turnaround.At the Rio Olympics in August. Sheth’s protege, 16-year-old Kanak Jha, will be among the youngest members of the American contingent. The India Community Centre (ICC) in California, which began as a modest four-table club in 2005, is now home to USA’s Olympic team, which is coached by Italian Massimo Costantini. Costantini, who was India’s national coach till 2012, is also the head coach at the ICC. It’s a big achievement for Kanak to be a part of the Olympics at this age. Since 2008, US has produced 24 players who have played for the US national team in junior, men and women categories. Apart from Kanak, two other girls who play here full time — Lily Zhang and Jiaqi Zheng — will also represent the US in Rio.
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