Dedication and hard work of their son Saketh have been rewarded, said his parents Myneni Prasad and Saroja after the Indian tennis player won the mixed doubles gold medal in the Incheon Asian Games. He has earlier won silver medal in the men’s doubles event. “We are very proud of our son’s achievement. In fact Saketh would play with a lot of interest. He loves all games and since he has chosen tennis as his career he dedicated himself to the game,” said Mr. Prasad on Monday after his son’s second success at the Incheon Asiad.
The 26-year-old Saketh won the mixed double gold medal along with Sania Mirza after claiming the silver earlier in the company of Sanam Singh. As a child, Saketh learnt basics with P.K. Kishore in the city.
He studied in the Timpany School and later went to Hyderabad for a rigorous training under the tutelage of C.V. Nagaraju. Winning the title in the MCC-Addidas Junior National Championship in Chennai in 2005 boosted his confidence and he moved to University of Alabama in the U.S. on a tennis scholarship.
The stay there turned his game around, said Mr. Prasad. After completing his undergraduate course there, Saketh came back to India three years ago to join the professional circuit and rose to become a member of the Indian team.
Ministers Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu and Ganta Srinivasa Rao, and V. Nani Rao, secretary of APLTA and VDTA, congratulated Saketh on winning the gold and silver medals.
