Ishita Patnaik of Bethany School, in the city, has emerged victorious in the U-12 SAAP Tennis League State-level Inter District Championship, organised by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, in Guntur on June 25 and 26.
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Ishita has done her parents, Jaggumantri Suresh and Anuradha, her coaches and her school proud by winning a gold medal in her very first attempt. “Her talent was first spotted by K. Babji (NIS certified), the chief coach of Visakha Tennis Academy. She was trained by Coach Santosh Varadhi of Sania Mirza Tennis Academy (SMTA) in Hyderabad for some months before the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of training academies,” says her paternal uncle Raja, who encouraged her to pursue the sport from a young age.
“I did not want her training to suffer and I developed the basic facilities, required for her training, on a vacant plot owned by my friend near Madhurawada. Meanwhile, the SMTA Coach Santosh, who hails from Vizag, also returned to the city and offered to train Ishita at our private ground. We readily agreed as Ishita could play safely as there would be no crowding,” says Mr. Raja.
Ishitha gives full credit to her parents and coaches for her success. “The opportunity given by SAAP has enabled me to prove my talent,” she says, and hopes to win more laurels to the State and the nation with the support of the government. Visakha Tennis Academy Director K. Madhusudhana Rao congratulated her.