Long shots

Ghatkopar tennis player Poojan Desai says he has a long way to go before he becomes the next Bhupati of India

Playing tennis was not Poojan Desai’s first choice. But after Indian duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati started winning medals and fame for India, Poojan got drawn to playing tennis. 11-year-old Poojan has modelled himself well on the tennis pair and has been successful in his age category. He was the no 1 state player in the under-10 category and now is ranked third in the under-12 category. Poojan speaks to Cityplus why he switched from badminton to make tennis as his career.

Love for Racquet
I love racquet sport. Some friends in my building use to play badminton. Seeing my interest towards sports my father asked me to try my hand on tennis. I enjoyed playing tennis more than badminton. I got myself enrolled for tennis training at Jolly Gymkhana. Slowly, my interest grew when I started participating in various tournaments. Irrespective of my results in these championships my parents have always supported my love for tennis.

Balancing act
The toughest part of being a sports player is balancing tennis and studies. In 2009, I was one of the 18 players selected for the Mahesh Bhupati’s Mission 2018 tennis programme at Bengaluru. But I gave up that opportunity, as my parents wanted me to concentrate on studies as well. There I would have just trained in tennis but my studies would have got affected. So whenever I am on tour, my mother ensures that I carry my book and study in between the breaks so that I do not miss on my studies.

Practice makes man perfect 
Winning tournaments is not everything. To reach to that level one has to practice for hours and without practice one cannot aim to be a champion. Everyday, I train for three hour at Jolly Gymkhana under my coach Pravin Jadhav. My coach ensures that I do not miss my studies because of tennis. It is because of him, I have been doing well in the tournaments.

A growing sport 
As far as tennis is concerned in India it is picking up. It was great to see Somdev Burman win gold medals at Asian Games and Delhi Commonwealth Games. But according to me the game needs to develop at the grass root level. Since it is a very expensive sport, many tennis enthusiasts cannot pursue the game. There should be tennis academies that should sponsor the tennis enthusiast.
 
Swiss by heart
I am a huge fan of Roger Federer. Apart from his game a lot can be learnt from him. One will never see Federer losing his temper or throwing his racquet. After seeing, Federer attain so much in his life, I too want to be a world champion like him.No one can hit a backhand return like him.
 I also admire the dedication of Novak Djokovic. Djokovic is a hardworking player he has had 43 consecutive
victories this year. Among Indian players I like Mahesh Bhupati a lot. He and Leander Paes have brought lot of medals to our country. They are ones who made tennis popular in India.

Training abroad
After my class X, I will go abroad for various championships. But before that I have to do well in India to get recognised and get sponsors. Once I achieve that I am sure I will also win medals like Mahesh sir (Bhupati).

--Shilpa Suryawanshi