Soumyajit Ghosh celebrates his 27th birthday on May 10, 2020 (Sunday). Born in Siliguri, West Bengal, Soumyajit was the youngest player from India to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games but lost in the opening round. He did not let the disappointment pull him down and in the very next year became the youngest national champion after beating Indian table tennis legend Sharath Kamal at the 74th National Table Tennis Championship. Ghosh was en route to becoming the fans of Indian table tennis until tragedy struck and a promising career almost drew to a premature end.

Ghosh was born in Siliguri, West Bengal to Hari Shankar Gosh and Mina Ghosh. His father worked for the local municipal corporation while his mother is a housewife. Ghosh burst into the limelight in 2010 with a bronze medal win in the mixed doubles category at the 2010 Junior World Championships in Bahrain.

He was also an instrumental part of the Indian side that clinched the bronze medal at the same event a year later and also a member of the team that won the 2011 Asian Junior Championships. By 2016, he had become the Indian world No 1 in table tennis. On his birthday, take a look at some lesser-known facts about Soumyajit Ghosh.

  • Soumyajit Ghosh was born to Hari Sankar Ghosh and Mina Ghosh on May 10, 1993, in Siliguri, West Bengal

  • Soumyajit won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in 2010

  • Ghosh was part of the Indian team that won the Asian Junior Championships in 2011

  • Soumyajit Ghosh was the youngest Indian player to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics

  • In 2013, 19-year-old Soumyajit became the youngest national champion in Table Tennis

  • Soumyajit Ghosh became just the third Indian to win an ITTF event in 2017

Soumyajit also qualified for the 2016 Olympics and was India’s best hopes of a medal from table tennis but once again exited from the opening round. He was removed from the Indian squad for the 2018 Commonwealth Games after rape allegations. But he has promised of bouncing back.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 10, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).