When did you first start to get involved with table tennis? I took up table tennis as a hobby when I was five years old.How has the Olympic Solidarity programme helped you?The programme has helped me lot. The Olympic Solidarity scholarship enabled me to travel to Falkenberg, in Sweden, to train under [former doubles world and European champion] Peter Karlsson and play at the Falkenberg club with some other good players. Without the scholarship it would have been difficult to cover those costs.How did training in Sweden help you develop as a player?I tried my best during the training sessions with Peter Karlsson. Our hard work and Peter's good advice - as well as a lot of support from the Table Tennis Federation of India - helped us win the team bronze at the World Junior Championships in 2011. I also won bronze in the World Junior Championships in 2010. Those medals have been the highlight of my sporting career so far.What are your targets for the future? My target is to play consistently in the top 20 in the world rankings.Who were your Olympic heroes when you were growing up?My favourite hero is [Sweden's former Olympic, world and European champion] Jan-Ove Waldner. I think he is the best table tennis player ever. Do you use social media to keep in touch with people?Yes, I use social networking to make friends and stay in touch with family, friends and fans.SOUMYAJIT GHOSHTHE NORTH BENGAL TEENAGER BECAME THE FIRST INDIAN TO MEDAL IN THE WORLD JUNIOR TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2010. HAVING SINCE HELPED INDIA WIN THE JUNIOR BOYS' TEAM BRONZE, GHOSH IS HOPING HIS OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY SCHOLARSHIP WILL LEAD TO FURTHER SUCCESSINTERVIEWOLYMPIC REVIEW 61OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY

How did you get started in archery?In 2004, I was looking to start a new sport. I thought of golf or archery, as both are available in Mauritius. I tried archery before golf and enjoyed it from the start. At the beginning I only practised once a week, shooting short distances, but soon I had my own bow and started shooting longer distances. In 2006, I went to the African Championships, held in Cape Town, and finished second in the qualification rounds, and also finished second at the elimination matches. Since then I have been "hooked".How has the Olympic Solidarity programme helped you?I am extremely thankful to Olympic Solidarity for their help. The scholarship gave me the will and motivation to keep practising the sport that I love. It also allowed me to participate at the archery World Cup in Porec, Croatia, and the World Championships in Turin, Italy.What do you use the funding for?The first thing I did was to order my own target butt, which I keep outside for training. The funds also helped me organise training sessions with my coach, Josef Preisser, who lives in South Africa. These training sessions meant that I was well prepared for the World Championships in Turin. Unfortunately I had an equipment failure while shooting at 60m, which knocked down my overall score, but I was very happy to finish with 1255 points, which was a new Mauritian record.What does your training programme consist of? The training programme my coach gave me consists of daily exercises for my shoulder muscles, mental training and shooting practice. What has been the highlight of your sporting career so far? I already have quite a few highlights in my rather short sports career: nearly every World Cup event I participate in is a highlight for me and gives me more and more experience in the sport, especially when I have to shoot against the top-ranked archers in the world. I don't mind when I lose against them, as it's an excellent challenge for me and sometimes it's nice to give them a "headache" they were not expecting. Above all, of course, participating in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 was a highlight, and then the last World Championships in Turin.What are your targets for the future?I'm working hard to prepare for the African Championships which is also the Olympic qualifying competition. My target is to be at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Score-wise I'm striving to reach 1300 points, which is the magic score for every competitive archer. I've come pretty close to it, so in 2012 I should be able to make it. Another target is to promote archery in Mauritius, to increase the number of licensed archers, and to have Mauritian teams in international competitions. For the moment I am very busy in the administrative side of our federation, but I would love to get more Mauritians into the sport and see them compete in international competition.Who were your Olympic heroes when you were growing up? I had one hero - Nadia Comaneci. What she achieved at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976 at the age of 14 was just amazing. I loved watching her perform; she had so much grace, talent and strength and made gymnastics look so beautiful and easy. I also like swimming, diving and athletics. VÉRONIQUE D'UNIENVILLEMAURITIAN ARCHER VÉRONIQUE D'UNIENVILLE IS HOPING TO IMPROVE ON HER PERFORMANCE AT THE BEIJING GAMES IN 2008, WHERE SHE FINISHED IN 53RD PLACEINTERVIEW62 OLYMPIC REVIEW OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY