GVK group of industries has come forward to sponsor young tennis talent from the city, Gunuganti Sruta Kirti, who is ranked India No. 3 in the under-14 category on Wednesday.
G. V. Krishna Reddy, chairman of GVK Group, said it was part of their dream to produce a World No.1 from India in tennis. “We are aware of the talent and the potential of Sruta Kirti. We assure her of complete support in her endeavour to scale new summits,” he said.
“The onus is on her to keep performing and improving. We promise to take care of travel, boarding and if necessary even coaching expenses in the long run,” Dr. Reddy said.
“I love tennis. If you remember GVK Group was the first to sponsor Sania Mirza and it started with Rs. 2 lakh and ended up with Rs 1.5 crore before she became a world-beater. Even in the case of Sruta Kirti and Yadlapalli Pranjala, there is no cap as such but it will be definitely performance-related,” he explained.
“I hope to live up to the expectations,” said the 13-year-old seventh standard student of Delhi Public School and thanked the GVK Group. With coaches -- former Davis Cupper Vasudeva Reddy and former national champion S. Narendranath -- taking care of her training, Sruta is optimistic of scripting a few more winning chapters in the big league. “The real test is when I represent India in the ITF Asia under-14 under development championship in Manila (Phillipines) from March 3 to 16,” said Sruta, who won the Asian under-14 title when just 12 years old.
