Mumbai: Ask Divyanshi Bhowmick, 15, if she aspires to be where India’s two former top-25 women paddlers, Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula, have gone, and she affirmatively nods before promptly adding: “Why just there…maybe even better than that.”

Ask Ankur Bhattacharjee, 19, if his larger goal is to be in the world’s top 30, like Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan were, and pat comes the reply: “My aim is to go higher. If we think of just the top 20, we will remain in 50.”

Indian TT, as its foreign coach Massimo Costantini had put it, is going through somewhat of a transition. And Ankur and Divyanshi are among the most promising young talents to walk the path charted by the likes of Sharath, Manika, Sathiyan and Sreeja. Except a retired Sharath, the others are still around but from a more long-term lens, which includes the 2028 Olympics, shaping the transition of these top juniors to the higher senior level would serve well.

Ankur is already in that process, dabbling in juniors and seniors over the last year. In his final U-19 year in 2025, he rose to world No.2 – behind French sensation and senior world No.6 Felix Lebrun – in the rankings, led the Indian U-19 boys’ team to a first silver medal at the World Youth Championships and pocketed a bunch of youth titles.

He also gave glimpses of what he could bring to the senior table, earning a main draw spot at the prestigious China Smash from the qualifiers in September. Earlier this month, he also made the singles quarter-finals and won the men’s doubles title at the WTT Feeder Vadodara.

Ankur has been fast-tracked into senior Indian teams, and was the third pick at the Asian Team Championships last year. This year’s Asian Games is a major goal for him, and adding to what Sharath & Co did in 2018 – win India’s first Asian Games medal, a men’s team bronze.

“I want to bring a medal back in that,” said Ankur, who trains with his parents in Guwahati and also plays in the French league.

“When India won those Asian Games medals (in 2018 and 2023), it inspired me. Even when I see Sathiyan get into the top 25 before, or Manav (Thakkar) in the top 50 now, it gives me belief that if they can do it, so can I. My target is to get into the top 50 by the end of this year.”

Currently 120, Ankur believes the step up to seniors could be smoother for him, given he has frequently played against the top 5 juniors, two of whom are also senior top 10.

“I get the confidence that if I’m beating a top-4 junior, I’m beating a top-10 senior,” said Ankur. “I’ve heard of many players losing their way from junior to senior. But for me, with my success in juniors, I don’t have that fear playing the seniors.”

A Virat Kohli fan who likes aggression in his body language and his game, Ankur is however aware that certain aspects need greater attention. Mental training is up there – “in seniors, being mentally strong is most important” – followed by better fitness and forehand.

Coincidentally, and rather symbolically, fitness and forehand are also the standout work-in-progress attributes highlighted by Divyanshi.

Younger than Ankur, the 15-year-old’s junior CV is fairly impressive already. Last year, she became the first Indian in 36 years to clinch the U-15 girls’ singles Asian Youth Championships title, and backed it up by winning the U-15 girls’ singles and team bronze at the Youth Worlds.

She is also beginning to make a mark at higher levels. At this month’s WTT Youth Contender Vadodara, she made the U-19 girls’ singles final, and in the senior Feeder event, upset Korean world No.73 Park Gahyeon. As a qualifier at last year’s Star Contender Chennai, she beat Italy’s then world No.64 Giorgia Piccolin.

Even as she remains the core of India’s junior teams, Divyanshi is eager to play more senior tournaments this year “when I go on my own”.

“I’ll get an experience of playing with some better players at this age itself,” she said. “Their power is much more than at the youth level. I’ll get a taste of it. And the more I play against them, the more comfortable I’ll feel.”

Like “Manika di”, she uses long pimps on the backhand and is learning to pick up twiddling from her role model, whose trendsetting Asian and Commonwealth Games medals have motivated her.

As she competes in higher age-group levels, Divyanshi has realised the need to “take the initiative in starting attacks”.

Fronting up against Chinese and Koreans, long considered intimidating forces from an Indian TT viewpoint, feels routine-like for this soft-spoken teen. At the continental youth competition, she went past three Chinese opponents for the title. At the Youth Worlds, she beat Korea’s Kim Minseo in the singles pre-quarters after losing to her in the team event.

“I’ve gained a lot of confidence after beating the Koreans and Chinese,” she said. “I carry the belief now that no matter who it is, if I play my best game, I can beat them.”