When Shreya Srinivasan was just six years old, she went to summer camp at the India Community Center’s (ICC) Table Tennis Center on Milpitas Blvd. There, she was given a choice – she could either play chess or table tennis.
She chose table tennis, not knowing at the time just how much that decision would impact her life…
Now, three years later, at age nine, Srinivasan has made tremendous strides in the field of table tennis, having won a recent championship, along with other remarkable achievements across various competitions.
“After summer camp, I wanted to take classes. I started with taking one or two classes a week,” Srinivasan said in an interview with The Beat.
A coach at the ICC Table Tennis Center saw how much she was progressing, then reached out to Srinivasan’s parents to recommend that she consider taking more classes.
“I started improving really fast, so I kept increasing the amount of the classes I was taking. I improved, and now I’m on the national team,” said Srinivasan, who is currently the youngest member of the 2025 USA Under-11 Girls National Team.
Srinivasan isn’t the only one in the family who has been deeply devoted to the sport. Her mom, Madhura Kantur Shekar, had a professional table tennis career when she was living in India, where she ranked #2 in the state of Karnataka for eight consecutive years.
“I have to give credit to my dad. He was a player. I went to summer camp, then played for 10 years, representing the state. And also for India,” said Shekar. “And now my daughter is playing. She loves the competition and she has a lot of fun with her friends.”
Srinivasan usually practices table tennis at the ICC Table Tennis Center for four hours a day, doing a combination of classes, a one-on-one session, and open play.
“We actually lived in South San Jose and it was 30 minutes away,” said Srinivasan’s dad, Srinivasan Ramkumar. “So we thought it would be better to move closer to the club, since she always wanted to go to practice.”
The family started out living in Milpitas when Srinivasan was younger. But since their unit was growing (Srinivasan has a little brother now), they decided to move to San Jose for a bigger space. They were there for three years.
“We never expected her to pick up table tennis so much and get to this level,” said Ramkumar. “So we asked ourselves – why don’t we just move back to Milpitas? It will help me to not have to drive back and forth.”
Srinivasan is currently a fourth-grader at Anthony Spangler Elementary. Along with table tennis, she also loves to swim and draw.
And her achievements have been adding up over the past year…
Srinivasan has received recognition from various high-level competitions. This past September, she won the award of Champion for the WTT Youth Contender San Francisco III U11 Girls for under 11 girls. She’s also banked a second-place win for the 2025 US Nationals U11 Girls Doubles, as well as been a Quarterfinalist for the 2025 US Nationals U11 Mixed Doubles. In January of 2025, while on Winter Break in India, Srinivasan beat out the competition and won a local tournament in Bangalore.
Srinivasan’s next ambition is to secure a spot competing at the Pan American Competitions.
Along with being grateful for the support of her parents, Srinivasan also appreciates her coaches – Kiranjoy Pushilal, Monish Dediya, and Lalrin Puia – for helping her to achieve so much in the sport that she loves.
“They’ve taught me a lot,” said Srinivasan. “Without my coaches, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”
