Manav Thakkar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Manav Thakkar

• Manav Thakkar played various sports, such as skating and gymnastics, in several competitions before he chose table tennis as his professional sport.

• His interest in table tennis started at age five after watching his parents play it in their leisure time.

  

• His professional training started under coach Vahed Malubhaiwala at the Sufaiz Academy in Surat.

• At 11, he was admitted to PSPB Table Tennis Academy in Ajmer, Rajasthan, where he had a tough time adjusting to staying in a hostel and a different cuisine.

• Since 2013, he has been taught in an academy in Saarbrucken, Germany, under the sponsorship of TIBHAR Tibor Harangozo GmbH (a German table tennis equipment manufacturer). He has also been playing for the club, Alliance Nîmes-Montpellier Tennis de Table (ANMTT) in France since the same year.

• In 2018, he was ranked the world’s number one at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) under-18 level with 6396 points.

• In 2019, he was ranked the world’s number one in the under-21 level with 6780 points at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Challenge Plus Benemax-Virgo North American Open in Markham, Canada.

• He is the third Indian after Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran who competed in the German top division Bundesliga league.

• Since 2019, he has been part of the franchise U-Mumba TT (owned by Unilazer Ventures Private Limited) in Mumbai for the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) League.

• He was part of the franchise Shamal Squad and participated in the Gujarat Super League Table Tennis Season 1 in 2022.

  

• In May 2024, he was selected as a member of the Indian Table Tennis team for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

• He considers veteran table tennis player and Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal in high regard and as his mentor.

  

• In June 2024, Manav and Harmeet Desai won the men’s doubles title at the World Table Tennis Contender in Lagos, Nigeria.

  

• In 2024, he played for the franchise Shamal Squad for the Gujarat Super League Table Tennis Season 2.

• As of June 2024, he is employed with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) as a grade A1 officer.

• Manav Thakkar includes yoga as part of his fitness regime.