Taking on the court
ROHINI RAMAKRISHNAN
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The National C.B.S.E. Tennis Tournament saw kids from all over the country and West Asia competing for the coveted trophy.
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Photo: R. Ragu
Proud winners : With the chief guest and Principal, DAV Public School.
The two competitors moved with agility and grace. The players were at the league match held at the SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam. The week-long C.B.S.E. National Tennis Tournament - 2009, hosted by DAV Public School, Velachery had 38 schools participating from the different zones. The 165 kids had qualified in the zonal matches and were now ready for the league matches, the semi finals and the finals.
M.A. Alagappan, Executive Chairman, Murugappa Corporate Board, President –Tamil Nadu Tennis Association and Vice President – All India Tennis Association, presided over the function and declared the tournament open. The AEO (Sports) C.B.S.E., New Delhi, Pushkar Vohra, was the guest of honour.
Tough competition
The North, West, East, South and the Gulf zones were well represented. The students from Indian H.S., Dubai and the Indian School Al Ghubra, Oman, were impressed with the playing standards here. Krushika, a Std. XI student of The Indian School, began playing tennis when she was nine. She gradually developed a passion for the game and now cannot think of life without it. “School finishes at 2 p.m. so my practice sessions are between eight and ten at night.” Areeb, a fellow student too says the same thing. “We have a heavy academic schedule. Over there academics is very important and we do not get many opportunites to play tennis and other games like the kids in India. One month before the tournament we are given an hour to practise in the mornings. But otherwise we practise at night.” For Sabareesh Hariharan of Modern S.S.S., Nanganallur, Chennai, it has been a long journey to become a ranked player. Coming from DAV P.S., Amritsar, Archit Sood, says, “It’s awfully cold in Amritsar now and its terribly humid here. So we have to face not only competitors but also the climate.” he says.
The officials present had their say too. As Mr. Ganesh Ram, Referee for the tournament, pointed out, these kids were given the best (meeting all international standards) when they played at the SDAT Stadium.
The week - long National C.B.S.E. Tennis Tournament came to a fitting end on October 31.
Mr. Satyabrata Sahoo, I.A.S., Member Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, presided over the closing ceremony of the Tennis Tournament.
Sabareesh Hariharan, Modern S.S.S., Nanganallur was declared Star Player (Boys) and Nandini Singh, St. Xavier’s S.S.S., Bhagwan Das Road, Jaipur won Star Player (Girls)
Some tips
It’s important to drink water/ electral. A glass of water with a pinch of salt and sugar works wonders.
Say no to deep fried stuff. Sandwich and pasta is fine.
Warming up exercises are as important as cooling down exercises .
- Nar Singh, CBSE Observer, Director, Tennis, DLTA
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