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Talent with the racquet

Photos: Bhagya Prakash K., Murali Kumar K.

Smashing aces Sharmada aim to play at the US Open this year.

It is not often that two Bangalore girls become national champions in tennis at the same time. Sharmada Balu was crowned National Under 16 champion this May, while Nimisha had bagged the under-18 National championship last year.Fifteen-year-old Sharmada is a trainee of the Apollo Mission 2018 scheme at the Bhupathi Tennis Village and undergoes coaching under the watchful eyes of coaches like Prahalad Srinath, Sandeep Kirtane, two former National champions and the Canadian progressive tennis expert, Bobby Mahal.

Sharmada opted to study under the IGNOU Open schooling scheme to get more time for tennis practice. She began playing tennis eight years ago. She made rapid progress in the game and emerged the most valuable player in an inter-school tournament in 2003. Sharmada has been participating in many ITF Grade I, II and III events and has been helped in this endeavour by her sponsors, Apollo Tyres Mission 2018. “In India, I find the National series to be competitive, but the other events do not match up to the standards. I feel that I get to play quality tennis in ITF events,” She says. Recently, she participated in a series of ITF events in Morocco and produced a third round finish in the singles event at Casablanca. She also made the semi-finals in one of the tournaments. Sharmada aims at playing in the US Open in September and finishing in the top 100 by the end of the season. She is currently ranked 169 on the ITF list. On her prospects, coach Srinath feels, “She has a good forehand and even defeated a player in the top 50 of the ITF ratings. However, a lot depends on her fitness levels and ability to move well on court.”

Nimisha Mohan, another young talent on the Indian tennis scene, is at the crossroads of her career. A memorable season last year saw Nimisha bagging the National junior girls title, record a back-to-back triumph in the ITF Junior events at Hyderabad and Chennai respectively. However, she hit a road block with a series of early losses in many tournaments. The reverses seemed to have shaken her confidence levels a bit.She is presently working on her game with coach Dhyan Uthappa and mental trainer, Ashlesh Rao. She feels that the stint with Ashlesh, has helped her focus better and treat the losses as learning experiences.

Nimisha.

Dhyan Uthappa says, “Loss of form could happen to any player. Nimisha has to be patient and enjoy her game .”

“I want enjoy the game. Winning does matter and I hope to return to winning ways soon,” says Nimisha, a second PU student at the Shree Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College. Nimisha took to tennis as a 12-year old . Uthappa says, “There is not a single stroke that I could fault. I often hold her game as a role model for my other trainees.” Dhyan believes that Nimisha has the potential to make it big in the field, Nimisha aims at playing in the US Open later this year.

Dhayan says, “Academically, she is doing well. I hope that she gives tennis a serious shot for the next couple of years. She needs to play graded events and the ITF women’s Futures.”

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