Niki Poonacha may be the most prominent face of the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy, winning the national title for the second time, but the academy has seen success across all levels.
“All four finals in men’s and women’s events, we had a presence and won three titles.
“Prior to that, Suhitha Maruri had won the under-16 girls’ title and finished runner-up in under-18,” said the chief coach of RBTA, M. Balachandran.
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Poonacha had won the men’s singles title and the doubles with S.D. Prajwal Dev.
Qualifier Sharmada Balu, who also coaches at the academy, made the women’s final, and won the doubles title with Sravya Shivani.
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“We have a good team of coaches with us.
“It was gratifying to find Rohan and Sujith (Sachidanand) appreciating the efforts,” said Balachandran, who plays a stellar role in having a system in place, and had conducted 37 sessions online for coaches during and after the lockdown.
“Investing time in training coaches and trainers is the key. [It is] Easy to put up a tennis court or buy few equipment,” he observed.
“All coaches work on similar lines. There is a structure in place, with coaches having a plan for each session with focus.”