Surat (Gujarat): Najmi Kinkhabwala has made waves in the world of Table Tennis while touring around 11 countries, He started playing the sport in 1964 but stepped away from the discipline in 1995. He suffered a fracture in his leg and so doctors told him that he would not be able to play the sport anymore.
However, the 76-year-old bagged a lot of medals before the unfortunate sequence of events prevented him from playing the sport. He got a job in a company after stepping away from the sport but was always keen to script a comeback. Once, he met a friend who advised him to take up the sport once again.
He returned to the sport once again in 2017 and the world witnessed his new version. He participated in the National Championship after a long span of 25 years. He won a gold medal in the mixed doubles category in 2019 in Sonipat, Haryana. Also, in the Forja International held in Goa, he proved his mettle by bagging gold. In the Asian-Pacific Championship held in Malaysia, players from 28 countries participated. He won gold in the team event while bagging a silver in the individual category beating athletes from China, Russia, and Malaysia. Recently, he earned a spot in the top eight players in the Asia-Pacific Championship.
Najmi stated that when India won the 1983 World Cup, there was a cricket fever in the country and so very few players were interested in pursuing a career in table tennis. He started coaching players in 1985 at a professional level. Despite being aged 76, his fitness is incredible. When he went to Thailand, the people there were surprised that he was a 76-year-old seeing his fitness levels.
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