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Naina Jaiswal, a Tennis Player, Talks About Her Journey

Being the youngest journalism graduate in India at just 16, Naina Jaiswal gets candid with Sara Shah about her trials, tribulations and her driving force Naina Jaiswal, a table tennis player of National level credit, is the youngest Asian to have passed her 10th-grade board examinations at the mere age of just 8, in the year 2008. In the year 2009, she cleared her class 11th exams, from the Andhra Pradesh board examination, at the age of 9 years. In the year of 2010, she cleared her 12th class from the Andhra Pradesh board examination. She also graduated from Osmania University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication at the age of 14 years and become the youngest graduate in India in journalism. Presently she is doing her post graduation final year at the age of 16 years. If all this doesn’t convince you of supreme intellectual capability, we don’t know what will. But, if you think she’s just about the academics, we’d have you know that she likes to indulge in a few hobbies every more and then. After regular practice in her free time, Naina Jaiswal managed to record the Ramayana Slokas at the age of 7. She is also an efficient piano player and singer. She is ambidextrous and operates CS2, Corel Draw and Photoshop effortlessly. We talk to Naina Jaiswal about how she manages to do so many things in so little time. 1) You passed your 10th-grade board exams at the mere age of 8. What made you choose to pass your schooling years so quickly? Till the age of 5, I was allowed to have as much playtime as I needed. Post that age, my mother inculcated in me, a thirst for knowledge and academics. At the age of 6, I started studying the basics of Hindi as a language. Later, I started reading the Bhagwat Geeta. At the age of 7, I started studying provincial Telugu for six months and during the second half of the year, I started learning English. At the age of 8, I was made to study basic Science and Maths. My father, who worked as an educator made learning more easier for me through memory practice and handwriting skills. He always asked me to be aware of the subject and reproduce with my own language. I studied education as a passion, and not under pressure. 2) How difficult or easy was it for you to cope with the 10th-grade syllabus at the age of just 8? As I could exercise control over languages and basics in math’s as well as science, I was able to do a lot more with mere concentration. 3) At 13, you were also the youngest graduate in journalism in India. Considering that you have a solid background in Table Tennis, why did you decide to take up journalism? In journalism, I have the option of studying political science, which will be useful for when I will write my Civil Services exams. I studied this subject in 11th and 12th grade, so during graduation, I took up journalism and even presently I am studying post graduation in political science. Journalism has also helped in developing my phonetics and English. 4) Did you have a lot of educational help and support during your exams? How did you prepare yourself during your final exams? Education and sports, as well as music, can be done with only regular practice and respect for the teacher. This is only the secret to get better in the final examinations. 5) How did you manage studies and table tennis at the same time? When you do it with passion, you can manage easily. My father inculcated sports, education and music as my passion. He made my learning process more inventive and initiated it step by step.

Image Credits: Deccan Chronicles

6) With a No.1 national Table Tennis ranking in the under-15 category being just one of your many achievements, did you face any challenges while on your way to the top? I face challenges on a day-to-day basis, and fighting against those challenges have made me stronger. I am a fighter and challenges don’t scare me. 7) Tell us a little about the toughest table tennis game of your life. Who did you play against? I never feel any game is the toughest because every time I play, I enjoy the game. But, there was a very significant match I played with the World Number 2 champion, Chines Taipei in Hong Kong, where I lost 2-3. 8) Tell us about your other hobbies, apart from Table Tennis. I cook Hyderabadi Biryani in just under 25 minutes, and I like to play the piano and sing as well. I am ambidextrous and I can type the alphabets in just 2 seconds. I have verbalized the 108 slokas of the Ramayana, and presently I am verbally memorizing the Bhagwad Geeta. These are my hobbies. RAPID FIRE ROUND: