Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Double delight for Harshith Jain

— PHOTO: V. RAJU

Harshith Jain who won two titles at the AITA talent series tennis championship that concluded in Vijayawada on Friday.

VIJAYAWADA: It was a memorable day for the fifteen-year-old Harshith Jain of Nalanada Vidya Niketan and the city's tennis fraternity as the teenager won a grand double by clinching the under-16 singles and doubles titles in the All India Tennis Association's talent series championship that concluded at Vijaya Madhavi Loyola Tennis Academy here on Friday. For young Harshith, the New Year has started on a positive note as he is considered ‘champion-material' by many coaches and game's administrators.

Harshith has so far won two singles and four doubles titles in the talent series and has reached the quarterfinals in the super series singles segment.

Harshith, who took up tennis at the age five, used to frequent the tennis courts at Vijayawada Club where his father Mr. Girish Jain used to wield the racquet more as a recreation. “He (Harshith) used to watch me and showed interest and thus he was initiated to the game,” said Mr. Girish. Harshith is a regular at the tennis competitions held in and around Andhra Pradesh. But now this young lad has reached a stage where he needs move to a city to further his prospects. “He does not have a quality player to practice. He has to move to a place like Hyderabad to achieve more glory. Hyderabad has better infrastructure and also talented players to play with,” said Mr. Girish. The formative years of Harshith as a player were hectic as he used to leave for Hyderabad on Saturday night for a day-long practice on Sunday at a tennis academy at Sindhi Colony. “For nearly one year, I used to drive him to Hyderabad and used to return on Monday morning as there were no facilities in Vijayawada those days. After Vijaya Madhavi Loyola Tennis Academy was set by Mr. Radhakrishna and Mr. Neelakanteswara Rao, he is regularly practising here”.

Girish, the motivating factor behind his son's success, said that Harshith would be shifting his base to Hyderabad this year after completing Class X.

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