Nikita overcomes adversity, now a coach

Little did Nikita Kumar know that her life would turn upside down on that fateful night of March 1■, 2012.

All of 21, she and four of her friends were returning from a movie when their car collided against a divider, resulting in the death of one and leaving her and the other three grievously injured.

Nikita was forced to amputate her left hand. The incident left her devastated, but it also gave her time to introspect.

Two years later, Nikita, with the support of her parents and sister (Nupur Kumar), started a table tennis academy called Ramprastha in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh). And she is now a popular coach, who has gained the love and respect of her trainees.

Nikita is grateful to her mother Meenu Chaudhary, who is a professional sports psychologist and her sister, who is a certified International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Level I coach, for guiding her in running the academy.

According to Nikita, her first priority is coaching. “I always thought I would make a better coach. I didn’t get a perfect coach/ mentor. So I thought I can be a mentor for these kids,” she said.

K. KEERTHIVASAN