For Jagadeesan Vishnu Vardhan, it was a dream come true to not only play for India but also bag silver in the mixed doubles tennis event of the Guangzhou Asian Games. “This silver medal is the biggest and most satisfying achievement for me so far,” he said.
The 23-year-old said it was a fairy-tale fortnight for him at the Games. “Till the last minute we were waiting for Rohan Bopanna to turn up. Only a day before the competition I was told that I would be playing in the mixed doubles with Sania Mirza and then my joy knew no bounds,” Vishnu recalled in a chat with The Hindu on his return to Hyderabad after a felicitation function put up by his employer ONGC in Delhi.
“I was in the reserve for the Davis Cup squad earlier and this was the first time that I was playing for India in an event of such magnitude.
“It has been a fantastic learning experience, meeting so many athletes from other disciplines and from other countries,” he said.
Praise for Sania
“Sania is an amazing player who has achieved a lot. So I was all excited about playing along with her and she really helped me in a big way in my first-ever mixed doubles event. The silver medal that we won is a huge inspiration for me.
“I will be going to the United States to train with Somdev Devvarman for four weeks as preparation for the Chennai Open and then will play in the qualifying rounds of the Grand Slams next year,” said the Hyderabad lad, who learnt the basics from C.V. Nagaraj at School of Power Tennis Academy (Secunderabad).
“Since Divij Sharan and I have won 17 international doubles titles, I want to give equal priority to both singles and doubles,” said Vishnu Vardhan.
With Nike and Head taking care of his clothing and kit respectively, he is reasonably comfortable financially, even as ONGC is helping him in pursuit of excellence.
Proud parents
His parents, Ramanathan Jagadeesan and Padmavathi, believe that Vishnu Vardhan has the game, commitment and the will-power to keep improving. “We dream of him winning more major titles,” they said.
The fact that Vishnu Vardhan was back to training, immediately after arrival at Secunderabad on Tuesday morning, was proof of his commitment.
“The advice of my elders is that there is no substitute for hard work. That is what motivates me to keep up the hard work daily,” he said.
