The Hindu : Sport : Somdev announces his arrival in the international arena

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Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009
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Somdev announces his arrival in the international arena

I am happy to see the enthusiasm Somdev has reignited, writes Ramanathan Krishnan

— Photo: S.S. Kumar

TOAST OF INDIA: Somdev Devvarman impressed one and all at the Chennai Open with his superb performance and calm demeanour.

This year’s Chennai Open tennis tournament has announced the arrival of Somdev Devvarman in the international arena. After Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi performed well to win the doubles event in this tournament in 1997, they metamorphosed into the world’s best doubles pair.

I hope Somdev’s performance in Chennai will be a stepping stone to similar achievements. I look at him from two angles. Firstly, he has come up at a time when there has been a vacuum in top-level singles players in the country.

I congratulate the All-India Tennis Association, ex-Davis Cup captain Leander and current captain S.P. Misra for fielding him in Davis Cup singles matches. This is a clear case of talent developing with big-match exposure.

Besides, Somdev is the first player of significance from the north-east region. This area traditionally has not had much tennis activity. It is now refreshing to see this youngster from Tripura perform so well on a global platform.

As a member of the National Integration Council, which was founded by the Government of India to promote national integration and harmony, I am happy to see the enthusiasm and interest in tennis that Somdev has reignited.

Equally important

Apart from strong performances, good conduct is equally important in bringing about public support. With his calm temperament and affable nature, Somdev has stolen the hearts of the Indian public in a manner usually achieved by Sachin Tendulkar, M.S. Dhoni, Abhinav Bindra and Viswanathan Anand, to name a few. It is a reflection of the power of sport to bring about integration and communal harmony.

Somdev is a good fighter and is endowed with the temperament for big-match play. He is an effortless player with solid groundstrokes and has proved to be an opportunist on court. He has a fairly good serve, complemented by quick foot speed. However, I feel he should learn to volley more as big matches are still won in the forecourt.

With more exposure to big matches, I believe Somdev will gain the experience to compete at the same level as the top players. In this regard, the encouragement of the Sports Ministry is valuable.

The honourable Sports Minister M.S. Gill is a keen follower of tennis himself. Under his guidance, the ministry has allocated several crores of rupees for promotion of sports in the country. By supporting Somdev, the ministry would bring up Indian tennis and at the same time, the north-east region into the mainstream of national sports.

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