Tag Archives: sports figures

Adam Bobrow, the Voice of Table Tennis

Adam Bobrow, the Voice of Table Tennis*

By Viraj Ajgaonkar, age 12, grade 8, Mumbai, India.

Adam Bobrow sketch by Viraj Ajgaonkar.

I am an emerging professional table tennis player, and I do my best to actively compete at Mumbai’s city level table tennis tournaments. There are multiple players whom I greatly adore and I always try to imbibe their techniques that help me to improve my game.

But there’s this guy who is quite unique, and he has created a meritorious place for himself as an official table tennis commentator in the UTT and WTT tournaments. When he was a professional player, he was popular for his signature snake serves and hitting the ball across the table.

Yes, you guessed it right. He is our very own the “Voice of table tennis,” Mr. Adam Bobrow!

He is also a successful YouTuber wherein he battles out professional players—from China’s Ma Long and Fan Zhendong to France’s Lebrun brothers or Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, right up to India’s Sharath Kamal or even USA’s Kanak Zha.

His humorous style of talking in his typical American accent, his colourful t-shirts and shorts, and his strong command over the language makes him very unique. He is truly fun-loving and seems to enjoy traveling to diverse places. For a recent Doha tournament, he traveled light—with just one backpack!

He has had played a pivotal role in spreading the passion for table tennis (ping pong) by challenging even the enthusiastic non-players of various age groups across the world through the solid platform of PingPod.

You will notice that he is a keen observer when you see him play against professional players in the challenge games. He tries to study their strengths and other technical aspects of backhand/ forehand strokes, chop, block, etc. He then effectively blends it especially in his English commentary. He often gives nicknames to many players—like Xuperman to Xu Xin or The Golden Girl to Manika Batra.

I’d like to take an opportunity through this article to invite you, Mr. Bobrow, to our city of Mumbai at Shivaji Park Gymkhana and Park Club. Mr. Bobrow, do come and challenge me and my other senior buddies, and let’s have a blast over here to create some unforgettable moments!                     

         By Viraj Ajgaonkar, Age 12, Grade 8, Bombay Scottish School, Mumbai, India.

* Table Tennis is known as Ping Pong in many countries of the world.

Christiano Ronaldo, the Great Soccer Player

About the Pixel Sketch of Christiano Ronaldo

Football (called soccer, in America) is one of my favorite sports; I am very passionate about it. I play soccer with my school buddies during our school break time, although I don’t play it on a professional basis.

All football players have their own unique styles and techniques of playing. Amongst them, Christiano Ronaldo, popularly known as CR7, is a legendary player from Lisbon, Portugal who started his career with FC Sporting, then MUN and many others. At present he’s with Al Nassr.

He is an iconic figure to me, especially when it comes to his bicycle kick, his headers, and his remarkable vertical leap which I think nobody has surpassed. He has come a long way from being a poverty-stricken boy to the most successful and elegant player in the football history.

I adore him mostly for his sheer faith in his physique and fitness (which is outstanding), and the respect that he gives to his fellow players. Yes, he doesn’t even promote commercials of carbonated drinks; he says they are harmful for health!

The deep affection that he has for his mother is clearly seen when he said that his mother is his refuge, and that he’ll take care of her until his last breath! I remember one occasion when he failed to convert a penalty into a goal but later succeeded in making a goal for his team in the same Euro Cup match. He apologized to his fans and his mom, and later, he silenced the crowd that was supporting his opponent team through his gesture (a finger over his mouth).

More than anything, his signature style of ‘Suiiiiiiiiiiiiii……..’ will always be remembered by all football fans like me. He is indeed a true inspiration for all youngsters. He has repeatedly excelled with his dedication, hard work and mental toughness.

So Mr. CR7, wherever you are, this is a form of respect that I would like to pay you through my very first attempt of drawing a pixel sketch of yours on a graph paper! (Do look at it from different angles to get the best glimpse).

By Viraj Ajgaonkar, Grade 7, Bombay Scottish School, Mumbai, India.