Fremont Table Tennis Academy students had its largest ever contingent attending a national tournament at the 2026 US Nationals nearby in San Jose. We had 20+ players for the first time attend the Nationals with some younger players aiming to win but also attending for gaining experience in their promising careers. This Nationals featured a record turnout of 1,150 players! Students at Fremont TTA attending the US Nationals for the first time were adult program members Jasmeet and Ram and upcoming youth players Sampurna, Advaith, Kethan, Advik, Vihaan, Aradhya, Sahasrad, Nikhil, and Kwanita.
THE MEDALISTS
Our adult program members Jasmeet and Ram were the big winners for Fremont TTA. In both the Under 750 and Under 1000 rating events, Jasmeet won gold and Ram won bronze. Special mention to Jasmeet who went undefeated in his 13 Nationals matches! In the Under 1000 event, after advancing to the knockout stage, he won 3-2, 3-2, 3-1, and 3-2 so proved clutch under pressure. In the quarters, he was down 2 match points and won. In the final, he had a 2-1, 10-4 lead which ended 2-2 in games but pulled through in the 5th. He showed the poise of a Nationals veteran. Fellow adult program member Ram Vaidyanathan won bronze in the same two events.
Among our youngsters, Anchit, Raghav, and Siddanth medaled. Anchit had a great run to the final in the Under 1800 event winning the silver medal including being down match points in the quarterfinals and winning the other matches relatively comfortably. Two years back, Anchit won the gold medal in the Under 1200 rating event at the 2024 US Nationals in Huntsville, Alabama.
Raghav Bikkina has been with the Fremont Table Tennis Academy for 8 years since age 6 and had his breakthrough he’s been longing for and won his first national medal! He teamed up with Siddanth Gogikari to win the bronze medal in the Under 3100 Doubles event. Siddanth is now a double-bronze medalist as he also won a bronze medal in the Under 1000 event in December at the 2025 US Open. Raghav and Siddanth nearly reached the final losing 11-9 in the fifth in the semis.
We had some other quarterfinals and round of 16 finishes which could have gone either way. Mihika Vangapalli reached the quarterfinals of the Under 1900 event losing narrowly and nearly got her second national medal. I reached the quarterfinals of the Over 30 Years Old event losing narrowly to the eventual champion. Adult player Michael Ramirez reached the quarters of the Under 1800 event.
THE ROOKIES
Among the national students playing their first national tournament, we had a few notable performances with players usually being the bottom seed in their groups. Many of them played just 2-3 events to gain experience. 10-year old Tri-Valley Branch student Aradhya Shyam won 2 matches in the girls 11 years and under event and advanced out of her round robin group in the Under 1000 event. 10-year old Advik Krishna won 8 matches in his first national tournament. Vihaan Chakraborty went 7-2 in match record in the Under 750 and Under 1000 events advancing out of his round robin groups in both and reaching the round of 16 in Under 1000. Sahasrad Muthukumar won 6 matches.
OVERALL
Students overall showed great team camaraderie and cheered their fellow clubmates when their matches were not taking place. It was also nice to hear good compliments about our new Butterfly uniforms. We ended the Nationals with a group dinner in Fremont and thanks to coaches Claudio, Sandro, William, and Umar who helped coach the kids. Thanks also to the parents who supported their kids and the overall team and helped get lunch for the coaches when we were running from match to match. Overall, it was a great experience, and we look forward to the US Open in December in Las Vegas.
