Gujarat-origin man who made table tennis popular in USA

Rajul Seth, a native of Vadodara, is credited with popularising table tennis in the USA. Rajul Seth left Vadodara and settled in the US 20 years ago. Till now, he has trained more than 10,000 table tennis players under him.

Two table tennis players, trained by Seth, will also partake in the Paris Olympics this year, representing the USA in the competition that begins on July 26.

Talking to the reporters on his visit to Vadodara, Seth remembered his time in Gujarat, when he became the state champion in the men’s singles in 1994. After that, he went to the USA in 2003 and is now running the largest table tennis programme in the world.

Through his programme, three players qualified for the London Olympics 2012, four for the Rio Olympics 2016, and four for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Seth was honoured with the ‘Community Hero Award’ in 2019 for his contribution to the sport. Seth’s 18-year-old son is also a table tennis player, currently ranked number two in the country.

Also read:

Gujarat-origin man asked to pay ₹20,000 cr to his brothers by US court