Keeping his promise

The manner in which Vinod Gowda won all his matches spoke highly of his consistency. He has what it takes to be a good player.

When Vinod Gowda lost in the first round of the Asian Tennis Federation (under-14) ranking tournament in Bangalore last year, the youngster vowed that he would get back and play better next time. This year, at the ATF Championship (September 15-19) Gowda kept that promise as he came back with a vengeance to lift the boys singles title with consummate ease, beating another talented young lad, Thien Nugyen Hoang of Vietnam 6-1, 6-0.

The manner in which the unseeded Gowda won all his matches in the tournament spoke highly of his consistency. Blessed with a strong double-handed backhand, a stinging forehand and a steady serve, the Bangalore lad has what it takes to be a good player. His mentor C. G. Krishna Bhupathi, father of Indian ace Mahesh, observed: “He has the game and we need to fine tune it and get him physically stronger and fitter as he grows up.”

At 13, Gowda is indeed an emerging talent from Karnataka who has made an impact on the National (under-14) scene.

In the ATF Championship, organised by the Bowring Institute — one of the oldest and popular clubs in Bangalore — Gowda conceded not more than eight or nine games while annihilating his opponents on way to the summit. One expected Thien to be a major stumbling block for Gowda, but the Korean was no match for the Indian in the final. Gowda blasted winners on either flank and did not allow Thien to settle down. He blunted the Vietnamese’s normally reliable backhand with a barrage of winners.

Thien, however, won accolades for his unflappable temperament. He stunned top-seeded Syed Muhammad Agil (Malaysia) in the semifinals before taking on Gowda.

Thien trains in Long Beach, US, under an Indian coach Ashok Bikkanavar at his American High Performance Academy. Bikkanavar, who hails from Bangalore, said: “I brought him here to get better exposure and he has the right talent and is among the few wards I had personally picked up for training.”

Thien, incidentally, has already made it to the No. 1 spot in Vietnam.

Bikkanavar, who has a coaching certificate from NIS and the German Tennis Federation, was impressed with the talent available in India. He said that with better facilities, like community courts, tennis would get the necessary impetus in the country. “The Indian Association (AITA) has been doing a commendable job and there is a sea change in the Indian tennis scene since I left these shores in 1976,” he observed.

On the distaff side, Tarrannum Handa of Delhi won her fifth ATF title of the season. A steady baseliner with solid groundstrokes, Tarrannum beat wild card Rimpledeep Kaur 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Tarrannum had earlier won in Colombo, Syria and Lebanon.

The ATF Championship had a better foreign participation this year with nine overseas players including four from Malaysia. It was in stark contrast to last year’s event, which did not have even one foreign participant. The ATF events are growing with the Asian body now having its own set of rankings, tour schedule and a unique format that allows losers to play in consolation matches for positions.

The Results

Boys singles final: Vinod Gowda (India) bt Thein Nugyen Hoang (Vietnam) 6-1, 6-0. Doubles: Syed Muhammad Agil (Malaysia) & Yash Deshpande (India) bt Thien Nguyen Hoang & Vishal Passi (India) 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 10-8 (super tie-break).

Girls singles final: Tarrannum Handa (India) bt Rimpledeep Kaur (India) 6-4, 6-2. Doubles: Sai Samhitha & Iska Teertha (India) bt Jasmine Kaur Bajaj & Pooja Kudesia (India) 4-6, 6-4, 14-12 (super tie-break).

* * *Army to the fore

Indian Army ‘A’ held off the challenge from Chennai Cheetahs to lift the title in the 75th All India Rugby Championship at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (CC&FC) recently. The Army team won the riveting final 10-6. The scoreline, though, hardly reflected the real merit of the Chennai outfit, which appeared to outscore Indian Army when it came to tactics, skill and fitness. The final underlined the emergence of two new power centres in Indian rugby.

Both Indian Army and Chennai Cheetahs are relatively new in the Indian rugby scene. However, the two teams have been investing a lot in development initiatives and this has helped them eclipse the traditional powers such as Mumbai and Kolkata.

The manager of the Army team, Tomy Mani, said that the Indian Army has introduced rugby in a major way in the recent years. It has encouraged its personnel to embrace the sport in a big way. The Army team, based in Aurangabad, has shown rapid progress under its coach Willie Hetaraka of New Zealand.

In the final, both Indian Army ‘A’ and Chennai Cheetahs enjoyed their moments of dominance. Army began on a breezy note and raced to a five-point lead with a try in the 10th minute by Dalwinder Singh. The Cheetahs hit back and narrowed the margin as Vartazarian converted a penalty to end the first session 3-5. The Chennai side enjoyed the initial leverage in the second session as Vartazarian scored his second penalty for a one-point lead over Army (6-5). Just when it appeared that the Cheetahs would be able to avenge its loss in the final last year, Army made a successful try through Charanjit Singh with barely a few minutes remaining in the match. This changed the complexion of the match and Army raced to victory.

The Results

Final: Indian Army `A' bt Chennai Cheetahs 10-6.

Semifinals: Indian Army `A' bt Future Hope 62-0; Chennai Cheetahs bt Indian Army `B' 36-14.

* * *A Perfect team man

At 15, G. Sathiyan is one of the brightest table tennis talents to emerge from Tamil Nadu after players such as Chetan Baboor and Sharath Kamal. At the Indian Junior Open (a pro tour event) in Pune recently, he clinched the cadet singles gold apart from cadet doubles and cadet team titles. His mentor V. Chandrasekar, a three-time National champion, is of the view that Sathiyan has the nous and the mental strength to scale greater heights. “He joined us when he was four years old. He’s a level-headed player and I am sure he’ll exceed all our expectations,” said the former international.

Analysing his ward’s game, Chandra observed that by playing close to the table Sathiyan is able to vary his strokes by either imparting heavy spin or no spin at all to shots played with the same action.

Though there is concern in some quarters that being thin could be a disadvantage for the Standard XI student of the Kola Perumal Chetty Vaishnav SSS, Chandrasekar rubbishes the view. “I don’t believe in power game. I also don’t like this talk of six loops and seven loops. I want him to continue to use his head rather than power,” he said.

The coach of the Indian team, Bhawani Mukherji, was all praise for Sathiyan who played for the team’s cause at the Junior Open in Pune. “I was not happy with Sathiyan and Saurav Saha as a doubles pair. When I saw the boys practising before the tournament, I told Sathiyan ‘I want you to play with Soumyajit Ghosh’. Without any hesitation he agreed and the two went on to win the doubles gold. He is a perfect team man,” said Mukherji.

Like Chandra, Mukherjee also feels that there is little point in grooming Sathiyan as a ‘power paddler’. “I have seen a lot of European and Chinese players. It would be better if Sathiyan trains his energy on his legs rather than arms. Today’s international players rely more on their powerful legs.”

India’s junior coach N. Ravichandran, who has travelled with Sathiyan on quite a few international assignments, says, “Sathiyan is a controlled and crafty player and very tactical. What he lacks is penetration, and if he can improve that at the senior level, it’ll do him a lot of good.”

According to Ravichandran, Sathiyan is one of the most composed players on the junior circuit. “His ball sense and anticipation are of a high standard,” he said.

* * *Digvijay triumps

Digvijay Mehta(above) and Nimisha Mohan clinched the boys and girls singles crowns at the VIF-International Tennis Federation junior tournament at the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh complex in Hyderabad recently. Mehta, a Standard IX student of St. Stephen’s School, Chandigarh, prevailed over Mansingh Athare, a more athletic and experienced player, in straight sets.

Digvijay employed the passing shot with devastating effect against Athare who often advanced to the net. A member of the Indian team that won the bronze medal at the World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic, behind the United States and France, Mehta was quick to attribute his victory to the support he received from his school principal, Harold Carver, coaches Gary O’Brien, Gajender, Akthar Ali and Pavan Kapoor and his father Mandeep.

Nimisha, a first year pre-university student of the Jain College, Bangalore, overcame Treta Bhattacharya for the girls singles title. Nimisha had triumphed in the earlier edition of the circuit in Chennai only a week before this tournament. As the tournament physio Sunil Dutt observed, “Nimisha showed tremendous grit without being overawed by the bigger and seemingly better players.”

The Results

Boys singles: Digvijay Mehta bt Mansingh Athare 7-5, 6-1.

Doubles: Mansingh Athare & Nihal Kapoor bt Jugal Marfatia & Sumeet Shinde 6-4, 6-2.

Girls singles: Nimisha Mohan bt Treta Bhattacharya 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

Doubles: Treta Bhattacharya & Garima Vatwani bt Aishwarya Agrawal & Tarimela Nilaya 6-4, 6-3.