SUNIL KUMAR graduated from the junior ranks with distinction, for the more arduous professional circuit, by winning the Asian junior tennis championship in New Delhi.
Coming a decade after Sandeep Kirtane's similar achievement in Brunei, and Nitin Kirtane finishing runner-up when India hosted the event the last time in Jaipur in 1992, it was indeed a memorable achievement.
"I am very happy to finish my junior career with this title. I am slowly getting ready for men's tennis. I have confidence in my game", said Sunil Kumar, who was not exactly overwhelmed with the title.
In the final, the top-seeded Sunil Kumar wriggled his way through from being a matchpoint down in the tenth game of the second set, against the fifth-seeded Tai-Wei Liu of Chinese Taipei, when both the lads were not able to play their best game.
Yet, it was to his credit that Sunil Kumar fought his way, without being disheartened by his own indifferent play. The inability to deliver his first serves with usual venom, because of a muscle pull, had taken the sting away from his game, and it was by the sheer weight of his ground strokes and silken-smooth volleys that Sunil Kumar was able to script a new chapter in Indian junior tennis.
Of course, he had a favourable draw in which he faced only Indians in the first three rounds in a draw of 32, and none of them could stretch him much. The eighth-seeded Nishank Mishra retired with a twisted ankle midway through the first set, and that helped Sunil Kumar preserve his energy, in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinal, the Chandigarh lad showed his class in handling the challenge from the fourth-seeded Wang-Cheng Hsieh of Chinese Taipei, though it became a bit tight as the contest moved into the tie-break in the second set.
Improving the consistency of his strokes and serves, would be the major concern for Sunil Kumar who has an all-round game, and the right attitude, if not the right degree of confidence, to make it good in the professional world. The lack of height will be a big handicap, and he may have to be extremely quick on his feet to make a mark.
The overall fare by the rest of the boys was disappointing. Unlike in 1992, when Chandraveer Singh and Anirban Baruah had also made it to the semifinals along with Nitin Kirtane, Sunil Kumar was the lone Indian in the semifinals, as Chinese Taipei took the other three spots.
It was a shame, considering the fact that the Taipei team was without its best bet, the world No.4 Yeu-Tzuoo Wang, who had reached the finals of two junior Grand Slam events in the season.
The surrender of the second-seeded Amanjot Singh was shocking. After beating two compatriots in the first two rounds, the talented Amanjot did not have the will to fight, against Tai-Wei Liu who blunted his strokes with his smart counter-attack.
The third-seeded Rohan Gajjar fell in the first round to Yu-Da Sheih of Chinese Taipei, albeit in a three-setter, as the latter showed more fighting qualities and committed fewer errors.
Among others, qualifier Tushar Liberhan caught the eye with his impressive game as he beat R. Arun Prakash in the first round, but the small-built lad struggled to keep pace with Yu-Da Sheih in the next.
Somdev Dev Varman also had a notable win over Ivan Kokurin of Uzbekistan, but could not match the eventual finalist in the second round.
Somdev had a great opportunity in the doubles semifinal in partnership with fellow BAT trainee, Jaco T. Mathew, against the eventual champions, Wang-Cheng Hsieh and Ti-Chang Wu of Chinese Taipei, but the Indian duo messed it up when two points away from clinching the contest. With age on their side, most of the Indians youngsters can hope to capitalise on the experience in future.
In the girls' section, there was a lot of hope, and equally a lot of pressure, on the top-seeded Sania Mirza to go all the way to the title. In the event, the 14-year-old Hyderabad girl succumbed in the second round to the eventual champion, Chin-Wei Chan of Chinese Taipei, who had a modest rank of 234.
The 28th ranked Sania fell rather tamely at 3-6, 3-6, mainly because she persisted with her penchant to go for the strokes, even when she was erring quite a bit. The lack of an alternate game-plan when things get tough, is a major stumbling block for most of the Indian juniors, but they will learn only with experience.
For someone like Sania, who smacks winners most of the time, it becomes temperamentally difficult to work her way through the points with patience. But, without this quality, it will not be possible for Sania to do justice to her potential.
The 13-year-old Sanaa Bhambri defeated qualifier Eun-Hee Sung of Korea 6-1, 6-1 in the second round and Samrita Sekar in the quarterfinals to emerge the only Indian to make the semifinals in the tournament. The diminutive Delhi girl, however, could not handle the power-play of the second-seeded Da-Jung Hong of Korea.
Yet, it was a credit to Sanaa that she beat Samrita, who had earlier knocked out the 52nd ranked third-seed, Chian-Jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei, in straight sets.
Talented left-handers Megha Vakharia and Isha Lakhani missed their chances in the quarterfinals. Megha lost in two tie-breaks to Da-Jung Hong and Isha fell to Pichaya Laosirichon of Thailand.
The fact that the unfancied Chin-Wei Chan, who had nothing much to show in singles through the year, walked away with the title without dropping a set, would have strengthened the resolve of the talented Indian girls like Sania Mirza and Megha Vakharia to make a more positive challenge in future.
Chan stuck to the basics and hit with such fluency, moving briskly into her strokes, that it was foregone conclusion that she would beat the rest of the field without much fuss.
"I was impressed with Sania's game. The final was tough, but beating the top-seed gave me a lot of satisfaction. I need to learn from Sania", said Chan, after beating Da-Jung Hong in the final, in which she trailed 1-3 in both the sets.
Overall, it was a commendable effort on the part of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to bring the tournament. Sunil Kumar proved that it was worth all the trouble.
The results:Boys:Singles (final): Sunil Kumar bt Tai-Wei Liu (Tpe) 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-3; Semifinals: Sunil Kumar bt Wang-Cheng Hsieh (Tpe) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5); Tai-Wei Liu bt Yu-Da Sheih (Tpe) 6-2, 6-0; Quarterfinals: Sunil Kumar bt Nishank Mishra 5-2 (conceded); Wang-Cheng Hsieh bt Sratha Saenguwann (Tha) 1-6, 6-0, 6-4; Yu-Da Sheih bt Anuwat Dalodom (Tha) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2; Tai-Wei Liu bt Amanjot Singh 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles (final): Wang-Cheng Hsieh and Ti-Chang Wu (Tpe) bt Tai-Wei Liu and Cheuh-Cheng Shih (Tpe) 6-3, 6-2; Semifinals: Wang-Cheng Hsieh and Ti-Chang Wu bt Somdev Dev Varman and Jaco T. Mathew 3-6, 7-5, 6-2; Tai-Wei Liu and Cheuh-Cheng Shih bt Sratha Saengsuwarn (Tha) and Yu-Da Shieh (Tpe) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
Girls:Singles (final): Chin-Wei Chan (Tpe) bt Da-Jung Hong (Kor) 6-3, 6-4; Semifinals: Chin-Wei Chan bt Pichaya Laosirichon (Tha) 6-3, 6-1; Da-Jung Hong bt Sanaa Bhambri 6-0, 6-2; Quarterfinals: Chin-Wei Chan bt Diana Julianto (Ina) 6-3, 6-2; Pichaya Laosirichon bt Isha Lakhani 7-6 (10-8), 6-1; Sanaa Bhambri bt Samrita Sekar 7-5, 6-4; Da-Jung Hong bt Megha Vakharia 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (9-7).
Doubles (final): Chin-Wei Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang (Tpe) bt Diana Julianto (Ina) and Pichaya Laosirichon (Tha) 6-1, 6-1; Semifinals: Chin-Wei Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang bt Sanaa Bhambri and Sania Mirza 6-0, 6-2; Diana Julianto and Pichaya Laosirichon bt Isha Lakhani and Megha Vakharia 6-1, 6-4.
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