(by Barbara Wei)
After 10 years of growing table tennis through local churches and community centers, Sue Chakravorty opened her own full-time club, ProSmash, in Cresskill, NJ in July 2024
“First think about what you love…I have a passion for table tennis. At any time, I can stand at the table and start playing.”
In 2014, Sue Chakravorty searched for a table tennis club for her children, then 8 and 9, to learn the sport she grew up playing in India, her home country. Having moved to the U.S. in 2005 with very limited English skills and the need to start over, Chakravorty leaned on her love of table tennis and her determination to find an affordable place for her family to enjoy the sport. At that point, starting a club was a far dream, but she decided to give it a try and worked with local recreation centers to find a free space. She sourced a $100 table from Facebook Marketplace and paid her children’s piano teacher $50 to use his car to move the table. From then on, Chakravorty built on her love of table tennis, growing training sessions from one community center to seven locations across Bergen County in New Jersey before COVID shut down operations in 2020.
A look inside Pro Smash Table Tennis, one of the newer USATT affiliated club. Sept. 26, 2024.
Undeterred, Chakravorty restarted operations in a church in 2021 while continuing to dream about her own space. When the current space became available earlier this year, Chakravorty signed the lease the same day and moved her operations to the new space. Within a month, she had set up summer training camps for her junior students and late afternoon/evening lessons for her adult community. This fall, Chakravorty started morning sessions for seniors, where she offers them coffee and table tennis to help them stay fit and social through their golden years.
Chakravorty is most proud of being a female business owner – and wants to encourage more women to own clubs. “If I can start a club with $100 table from Facebook Marketplace and no external funding, why can’t you?” She also adores her students, some who have progressed from beginner to tournament ready. ProSmash has built a community that loves table tennis and an identity of passion and support.
“There’s a saying in India, if you ask a tree, what is your identity, the tree will say my fruit is my identity. I am not my identity. For me, the fruits are this club and my students. That is my identity.”
Congratulations Sue Chakravorty on the successful opening of ProSmash Table Tennis. Your unmatched passion for table tennis inspires all that are lucky enough to meet and play table tennis with you.
About ProSmash TT
Sue Chakravorty is the proud owner of ProSmash Table Tennis, a dedicated space in Cresskill, NJ that opened its doors in July 2024 to serve the local population of table tennis players. The professionally adorned space includes a dedicated Butterfly robot table alongside four professional Butterfly tables in a bright space. ProSmash provides after school junior training, senior mornings and group training sessions. Visit https://prosmashtta.com/ for more information.
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