By Jia-Yu (Trinity) Sung
Press Committee Member

Photo by Dennis Yanga

A freshman walks onto a court.
One weekend later, he walks off with his backpack jingling with awards.

But what does Ved Sheth, this year’s Men’s Singles and Coed Teams Finalist have to say about his debut performance? Reflective, Ved professes, “People may think I’m a really good player if they saw me play this year. I am still vulnerable…the only thing I can do is prepare for next year.”

Remarkably humble, Ved, an EECS freshman at UC Berkeley, grew up in the embrace of the table tennis community and interprets the sport through a pure, unwavering dedication. Clambering over nets and under tables, a determined young Ved swinging a racket with his eyes barely peeking over the table was a familiar sight for visitors of the ICC Table Tennis Center.

Now, after a couple growth spurts, Ved views his matches with a similar driven spirit. “I treat both [collegiate and professional table tennis] the same because I am an extremely competitive person” Ved reveals, “I will always give my best in a match.” Even with his heavy course load, the UC Berkeley freshmen frequents local transit every weekend to train at his home club.
It comes as a testament to Ved’s consistent work ethic that he emerged, to no one’s surprise, as a top player despite the fierce competition within the Bay Area.

A strong individual player, Ved elevates his team as an irreplaceable team player as well. Although just a freshman, Ved quickly claimed an integral role within the team at UC Berkeley, showing a level of involvement atypical of higher caliber players. Anyone can speak of his defeats of established collegiate titans on his way to the Men’s Singles final. Arguably more impressive was his reliable performance which sustained UC Berkeley’s coed team through to the finals despite the absence of key player, Nikhil Kumar. Expressing regret at relinquishing his final matches “without a stronger fight,” Ved concedes that “I am just happy to have competed in a high level tournament.”

A decade ago, a young Ved vowed, after a narrow loss to a fellow student in a group lesson, to destroy his opponent the next time they played.

Today, Ved once again vows, “Job’s not over. I will be back next year, stronger.”

(Photo of Ved Sheth. Photo by Dennis Yanga)

About 2024 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships
The championships are hosted by the
National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Visit Eau Claire CVB. The
event will feature: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed
Teams, Women’s Teams.
PongSpace, Joola, the US
Coast Guard, Visit Eau Claire and Bluestone Designs sponsor the event.
Watch the event on live
stream starting Friday, April 12th on http://www.nctta.org/champs/2024/video.html

About NCTTA
The National Collegiate Table Tennis
Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively to
promote the sport of table tennis at the college level. As the national
governing body for college table tennis in the United States and Canada, NCTTA
organizes elite intercollegiate competitions throughout North America. www.nctta.org