Cossipore: A 19-year-old whose mother sold her harmonium to buy his first table tennis kit has been the state champion in the game for two years in a row.

Anirban Ghosh spends more than four hours travelling from his Naihati home to a Cossipore club for practice everyday. The journey home in a crowded local train is particularly taxing after a long day's practice.

The teenager's father played para cricket to run the family before setting up a mini-recharge shop near Naihati station five years ago. The financial worries of Abhijit, 54, and wife Kakali, 46, have somewhat abated because of a sports stipend of Rs 18,000 that their son has been getting from the Airports Authority of India since last year.

Anirban won the state championships in both the youth (U-21) and men's categories in 2016 and did an encore this year.

It all began in March 2007 with Anirban's maternal uncle taking the boy to Bijoynagar Club in Naihati, which has produced state-level table tennis players. In December the same year, Anirban made it to the finals of the state mini-cadets - an under-12 tournament in the city - but lost. "I was terribly upset but I started loving the game," the lanky 5.8 footer told Metro.

Over the next few years, Anirban won state tournaments in successive age groups. He won the sub-junior national championship in Gujarat in 2012 but lost to idol Sharad Kamal in the semi-final of the zonal rankings the same year.

The first-year BCom student at Rishi Bankim Chandra College in Naihati was part of the Indian team that finished sixth in the Spanish Open Junior Championship in Barcelona in 2013. The next year, Anirban won the South Asian Under-15 Championships in New Delhi.

Despite economic constraints, Anirban's parents have always encouraged him. Father Abhijit borrowed money at inflated rates to fund his son's travel to other states for tournaments. Mother Kakali, who is fond of music, sold her prized harmonium to buy Anirban's first paddle, a Stiga Winner.

Anirban now uses a butterfly Zhang Jike paddle, named after the Chinese superstar. The black-and-red rubbers alone cost Rs 4,500 each and have to be changed before every major tournament.

"Anirban is a compact player with a great backhand. But he has to work on his physical strength to make an impact among national and international seniors," said Sourav Chakraborty, a former India No. 1 who mentors the boy.