At the age of 13 he played for India for the first time in an international Table Tennis tournament, when he represented Indian Schoolboys at the Asian Schools Meet in Singapore. Thereafter, it did not take much time for Niraj Bajaj to reach the top position in Indian Table Tennis and between 1970- 77 he represented India for seven consecutive years out of which for four years he was ranked No. 1 and was three-times All-India Table Tennis Champion.
Niraj took early retirement from the game of Table Tennis, as he belonged to reputed business family. Grandson of Late Jamnalal Bajaj and son of Late Ramkrishna Bajaj, after his graduation, in Mumbai, Niraj acquired his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. and for the past 35 years he has been associated with Bajaj Group of Companies on the Board of directors. Presently, he is the CMD of Mukand Limited.
A very busy person that he is, Niraj has maintained his physique very well, despite his absence from the game. Now, almost after 35 years he has returned to the game of Table Tennis in the capacity of a promoter. Niraj has stepped in as a co promoter with 11even Sports Pvt. Ltd( ESPL) the company formed by Ms. Vita Dani and this made possible the conduct of biggest TT event of Ultimate Table Tennis in India with the support of Table Tennis Federation of India. For the past two years we have witnessed the growth and promotion of table tennis in the best way possible with ESPL promoting this game at the Zonal and national championship, besides hosting All Indian Schools tournament which is the right way to groom little children, passionate about this game.
During his active playing days, Niraj had a peculiar style of shuffling his legs a bit while receiving service of his opponent, which clearly indicated his preparedness for the game using his footwork. He was a master of this game, especially when long rallies were played, as he had terrific ball control during the rallies and hardly missed points during such rallies. Those days in a game of 21 points, his opponents considered it a bonus, even if they scored 10+ points in a game. Niraj committed very less errors and conceded minimum negative points. He was such a cool and calm player who never got excited during his matches. When he was ranked No. 1 he won 9 out of 10 important finals during the big competitions and that was a good record. He was at his best against all defensive players. So much was his consistency.
For a long time magzmumbai needed some time from Niraj Bajaj and finally the day came, when he found few minutes and spoke about his return to the field of Table Tennis as a promoter and reminiscing his good old days with this game.
The best opponent Niraj faced during his time was his friend Vilas Menon. So, the one out of 10 big matches he lost, used to be against Vilas Menon. Talking about Vilas, he said, “I cannot think of any other player in India I lost a number of times. But, all our matches used to be well fought matches. He was a stylish player. We were friends off the court but on the court we fought like rivals. Most of our matches attracted houseful crowds. Vilas was a character in the field of Table Tennis. A good hearted person that he was, he had no malice towards anyone.”
Reacting on the proposed TT training programme to be launched by Vilas Menon’s wife Renu in her husband’s memory for selected municipal school children from Mumbai , Niraj said, “ It is good initiative and I wish her all the best. Let this be properly planned to be a long term programme. Let this not be limited to a workshop or short term camp. Let it be carried out throughout the year, so as to produce real champions from the under privileged section. And this will be a biggest tribute to my friend.”
Finally, when he was asked about the change he has noticed in the game of Table Tennis, he added, “ Yes, the whole environment has changed. Today, we find TT players playing in A.C. halls with good facilities provided to them. Take for example the UTT event, where we offer 5 star accommodation. With the sponsorship coming into this game, it has earned respect to the players, who are selected on their merits. Money is very important to motivate a player playing at the competitive level. ”