Making a mark against seniors in the game

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Tanvi Bhat is a young challenger at the ongoing tennis tournament at the Regional Sports Centre, and as she volleyed against stronger and senior opponents, there was no doubt about the loads of talent in her that has yet to be seen.

The 11-year-old Kochi girl was a revelation especially when apart from contesting in the under-14 category she also took part in the senior girls event and went on to upset the second seed Anjali Jaindhan in straight sets to reach the semi-final stage.

Tanvi eventually bowed out to Surya Tejaswani of Andhra Pradesh in a close encounter (7-6, 6-4), but the effort she put in to be up there in the league with those much more experienced than her, was remarkable.

“Tanvi has a good tennis brain she is also not afraid of opponents, which makes her a worthy bet for the future considering she is only 11,” said K. Shankar, director of the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy, where she has been training for the last three years.

Tanvi’s father Sanjay is a huge tennis buff and he encouraged her and her elder brother Aditya to play tennis at a very young age. Aditya however, has not been a regular in the field since he has been very involved with his engineering course.

Says Tanvi, “I’ve been playing for three years and Shankar sir is my coach. He has helped me to concentrate more on each game and also encourages me to play with seniors more often, which is something I like a lot.”

Earlier in the year, Tanvi, who is a VI standard student of Bhavan’s Elamakara won the under-14 singles in a national championship held in Nasik, where she was also the semi-finalist in the under-12 category. Later she went on to win the under-12 singles and doubles in another championship in Nagpur.

By Wednesday, Tanvi had also made it to the semi-finals in the under-14 singles and reached the finals of the doubles, partnering Gayathri Shankar. En route to their success the duo had overcome the top seeded pair in the category.

“Tanvi is a dedicated player and I believe, with more exposure she will be capable of making it to the top 15 in the country (under-14) in about a year,” said Shankar. In recent years not many Kerala players have lived out their promising careers, but in Tanvi one sees a potential match winner.