Manav Thakkar burst on to the Indian table tennis scene as a prodigy. He dominated the age group categories comfortably. Not just at the national level but also internationally.
In February 2018, Manav was ranked world No 1 in U-18 boys’ singles rankings – a first for an Indian paddler.
Almost two years later – just before the covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc – he was ranked world No 1 in U-21 men’s singles world rankings in January 2020. This, again, was a never-seen-before achievement in Indian table tennis.
The next five years passed in a jiffy. Manav failed to translate the age group success into anything substantial at the senior level.
He turned up training session after training session, played tournaments one after the other but struggled to cope up. He was improving, but at a snail’s pace.
The struggles
From playing multiple disciplines – singles, doubles, mixed doubles – at the junior level, he was restricted to just singles at the senior level.
The Manav, who once played 47 matches in six days, winning 46 of those, in an age group national tournament, went missing. There was an evident lack of game time and he just couldn’t build up the momentum.
“I had the habit of winning a lot of matches (at the junior level) both nationally and internationally,” said Manav in a conversation with The Bridge. “You know normally when I win matches, I get confidence and then that confidence gets higher and higher.
“But once covid happened and I transitioned to the senior level, I played half the matches I was playing at the junior level because I was playing only singles. The ratio of matches I played in junior and senior level took me some time to get used to.
“The quality of players at the senior level was also very different then what I was used to. I was playing a match or two and then losing the next to crash out. This meant that I could never build any momentum,” he added.
During this period Manav also struggled with finding a good coach. Someone, who could understand him, and help him through this phase.
Massimo Costantini, the national coach under whose guidance he climbed to world No 1 in U18, left the Indian setup in 2018. This left Manav in deep water without knowing how to swim.
Manav turned to Achanta Sharath Kamal during this period. The veteran was always happy to help but the fact that he was also an active player during this time meant that he wasn’t around 365 days a year.
Manav Thakkar in action (Photo credit: WTT)
WTT Chennai exploits
Costantini’s return to the Indian setup in 2024 just before the Paris Olympics proved to be a boon for Manav. He got his trusted ally back in the coaching corner and is now much more at ease during matches.
The Costantini-Manav duo’s biggest success came at the 2025 WTT Star Contender Chennai last month.
In the tournament which , Manav crafted a stellar run into the semi-finals – men’s singles paddler in Star Contender event.
In the , Manav scripted a comeback for ages. Trailing 1-2 and down 2-6 in the fourth game, he won 18 points in a row to stun his higher ranked opponent.
Costantini usually has loads of inputs for Manav. But on that day, it was the student, who pitched a plan. The coach agreed.
Manav, who usually likes to take his time and relies on his counterattacks to win points, flicked a switch. He turned to fast paced, aggressive play – no time to waste between points, don’t wait for better chances, pounce on the first opportunity he gets.
The move worked. It took Lim aback and Manav finally had his revenge against the South Korean after losing two close matches in their last two meetings.
“Both coach and I were in the zone [during the match],” said Manav. “The tactic was simple jaldi jaldi point khelna hai, jaldi jaldi point jeetna hai.
“After the match, I watched highlights and I realised that I wasn’t even shouting after winning points. I just wanted to get on with it,” he added with a laugh.
Learning from Lebrun brothers
This is a tactic, Manav believes, he picked up from his training sessions with Lebrun brothers – Alexis and Felix. Both of them are top ten ranked men’s singles players in the world.
Manav started training with the French brothers last year – a decision he terms as ‘gamechanger.’
Manav had his training base set up in Germany for years. He was keen to explore other countries when Felix made his way to Germany for a few days.
He was impressed by Felix’s training style, his coach’s methods, who made them play a 13-game match, and expressed his desire to join them.
A few months later Felix flew down to Goa for the 2024 WTT Star Contender – a breakthrough event for the French paddler, who made his way from the qualifiers to the semi-finals. It was a tournament Manav suffered an early exit from.
Felix, who was without a sparring partner, requested Manav to chip in. He agreed and they struck a chord.
Manav was soon offered to train and play for their club – Nimes Montpellier Table Tennis Alliance – and he grabbed it with both hands.
The 24-year-old from Surat was blown away by how the brothers trained. They developed their own ‘creative games’ to get their competitive juices flowing. Training started to feel like competing – something he always craved for.
“They are professional players, but they don’t train like that. For them, its all about having fun,” stated Manav. “At the same time, they consistently put in the efforts and have fun competing with each other.
“Normally in India, we have a fixed routine. You wake up then ye karna hai, vo karna hai. It’s not like that with them.
“They play some creative games during training sessions. You don’t know what you are learning training with them but in matches you go ‘ye toh kara hua hai maine training mein, itna bhi mushkil nahi hai,'” he added.
Manav credits his recent resurgence to the stint in France so much that he has extended his contract for the 2025 season. Even with the new season only just underway, he is hoping to be there in 2026 as well.
Manav, over the last few months, has shown shades of his younger self. The run in Chennai has – a career first.
He is now India’s highest ranked men’s singles paddler and is ranked as high as world No 9 in men’s doubles – the – with long-time friend Manush Shah.
With Sharath Kamal fading to the backdrop, . The prodigy that Manav Thakkar was, is the first to put his hand up.