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Sareen is one of seven athletes set to represent Australia at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan later this month, where an impressive campaign could secure his ticket to Paris for the Olympics in July.
Sareen will form part of Australia’s men’s team for the upcoming championships in South Korea, joining fellow teenagers Nicholas Lum and Finn Luu for group games against France, Denmark, Austria, and Algeria.
The US-based athlete, who first left Australia as a toddler, has experienced a rapid rise to the national team despite only picking up a racquet six years ago.
“Me and my dad, we went to this local gym that had basketball, badminton, all kinds of sports, and there was one hall that was doing almost like free table tennis lessons,” Sareen told SBS Sport.
“I was like, ‘oh, that's cool, why not give it a try?’, and so I went in there and I played a little bit, maybe like 30 minutes with this one coach and she was like, ‘I can see you have some talent, maybe you can go inside the table tennis club and give it a shot?’
“So, I tried, then I kept training with my dad, and now I'm here.”
2023 was particularly imperative for Sareen’s development – in August, the Seattle Spinners selected him in the second round of the inaugural Major League Table Tennis Draft, and, one month later, he would rewrite the Australian record books.
Fresh from becoming the youngest men’s singles champion at the Oceania Championships in Townsville, Sareen would climb to the top of the world rankings in the U15 age category, joining Lum (U17) as the only Australians to reach such heights in singles competition.
That achievement would cement Sareen’s standing as a rising star in the sport and allow him to reset his perspective on the extent of his potential.
“When I saw my name, I was almost flabbergasted,” he explained. “Like, wow, I really accomplished this, and it really meant a lot to me.
“I think my goals for the future is just to keep improving, trying to get better and better and see if I can compete with all these big guys internationally.
“If I keep working hard and know what I’m capable of, I think I can go to the next step.”
Balancing education with the demands of an elite athlete – where training sessions span anywhere from two to six hours a day – has been a separate challenge for the Victorian, but one he has taken in his stride with the help of his coaches and teachers at the Laurel Springs School for distance learning.
His father, Rahul, has also played a significant role in his career, having first moved to Melbourne from India and then to New Jersey soon after Sareen’s first birthday.
Despite having limited memory of Australia, Sareen’s affinity for the nation never faltered; eventually influencing his decision to commit to a national team that has since nurtured his development alongside Lum and Luu.
“Finn and Nick, they’ve been playing a lot of international tournaments before I have,” Sareen said. “I didn’t have as much experience and so they’ve taught me a lot about how to play and what to feel when you play.
“They’ve given me a lot of good tips, how I shouldn’t feel pressure, and I’m extremely grateful to them as well. They’ve been good role models for me.”
Sareen’s standing as one of the youngest players on the scene hasn’t deterred his ambition, the two-winged attacker full of belief that his game will see him over the line against his more experienced opponents.
That’s the message he’ll be reminding himself in Busan, and one he’ll carry with him into both the Olympic window and the rest of the year.
“This is my first time playing in such a big event, there are almost no expectations,” he added. “Just try to play my game, try everything, and see maybe if we can advance in the group.
“I mean, it's going to be a tough one. There are a lot of good players. But I think if we really focus and we really try our best, it's very possible to do this.”
