A Struggle At SW19

A bunch of four Indian kids —Zeel Desai, Mahak Jain, Mihika Yadav and Siddhant Banthia — SHOWED THAT SUCCESS is hard to come by, even in doubles, at SW19.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

We expect a lot from our junior tennis players. Especially so, when it is at an event like Wimbledon, which is watched by the whole world.

Quite often, it is only the hard lessons, and not trophies and accolades, that these kids carry back to their training centres, as only the best, with a very uncanny ability to adapt, can triumph on the hallowed grass courts.

When Sumit Nagal, diligently groomed over the past few years by Mahesh Bhupathi, won the Wimbledon junior boys doubles title in 2015, with the Asian junior champion NamHoang Ly of Vietnam, we dismissed it as, ‘oh, only doubles.’

A bunch of four Indian kids, including three girls, showed that success is hard to come by, even in doubles, at SW19.

Quite thoughtfully, much against the regular practice of a studied indifference, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) opted to utilise the funds of the Union Sports Ministry and attached a coach, a former Fed Cup player, Arati Ponnappa Natekar, with the juniors for suitable guidance.

It was an attempt to maximise the chances of success for the four players — Zeel Desai, Mahak Jain, Mihika Yadav and Siddhant Banthia.