Karnataka's tennis talent Harshini making steady strides

Bengaluru, December 26: Success is sweet, but its secret is sweat and nobody knows it better that Karnataka's Harshini Nagaraj who clinched the Under-14 singles title in the All India Tennis Association (AITA) Nationals which concluded at Aurangabad, Maharashtra, recently.

At the EMMTC Tennis complex in Aurangabad, the 13-year-old, who was seeded 16th in the tournament held under the aegis of AITA and the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association, stunned Odisha's second-seed Sohani Mohanty 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 en route to clinching her maiden National singles title.

It was almost a double delight for the Bengaluru-based girl, who along with Snigdha Kanta finished as runners-up in the doubles category final where they went down 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-10 to the Telangana's Rishitha Reddy and Odisha's Sohani.

Karnataka also had more to cheer when Tanussh Ghidlyal did a double in the boys category.

"Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) congratulates the winners of the recently concluded AITA Nationals U-14 at Aurangabad.

It's a proud moment to Karnataka tennis as both boys and girls singles titles were clinched by the state players Tanussh Ghidlyal and Harshini Nagraj trainees of SOL sports and Transform Tennis academy respectively. Tanussh also won the doubles title and Harshini was the runners up. We wish these players, all the best for new season 2022," a KSLTA statement said.

Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Associaction congratulates the winners of the recently concluded AITA Nationals U-14 at Aurangabad. It’s a proud moment to karnataka tennis as both boys and girls singles titles were clinched by the state players (1/2) pic.twitter.com/42t83U5Nr1

— Tennis Karnataka (@KarnatakaTennis) December 26, 2021

Harshini, the Transform Tennis Academy Graduate, has been making steady strides in the AITA circuit and her maiden nationals title caps a dream run for the Grade 9 student of The Brilliant School in Kundalahalli, whose career was at crossroads one stage .

Initially coached by her father Nagaraj, Harshini's career hit a bumpy road when her father had to close down his Glow Tennis Academy near Marathahalli in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, realising the huge potential of Harshini, Nagaraj decided to enroll her in the Transform Tennis Academy's Marathahalli centre.

"Harshini is a good student of the game and works hard on a daily basis. She is extremely dedicated and consistent with her actions on court. She has great skills and technique for a player of her age and is trying to develop her game to compete with the best," said Kishore Srinivasan, Transform Tennis Academy owner.

Currently ranked No. 20 in the AITA U-14 category, Harshini has set her priorities right.

"I want to break it into the top 10 in the U-14 category. That's my first target. From then I'll take it one by one. Now that I've won U-14 title, U-16 should be next. And in the coming years, I would like to break it into the International Tennis Federation (ITF) rankings system as well as the AITA senior women's ranking," said Harshini.

Harshini first showed glimpses of here talent when she won TS 3 mat sports event in the U-14 age group in 2017. And from then on it has been a gradual climb upway the ladder.

The win at the CS 7 event in Coimbatore a year later enhanced her credentials further.

In the Mini Olympics held in Karnataka in 2020 Harshini won three gold medals (singles, doubles and team) and in April this year, Harshini won the doubles event in the KSLTA event.

"Harshini requires a lot of match experience and organised training in a structured way to help her scale up the rankings," said Harshini's coach Bharatram Balajee.

And competing in tournaments outside the state and travelling is taking its toll on the humble family expects who is expecting some kind of sponsorship to come up for their help.

"Funds are required for her travel as she is keen to improve her ranking aligned with her future plans. Harshini needs right level of equipment required to compete with the best players in India. And to help her achieve success in tennis as well as supporting education in her career plans we need more funds," said Harshini's father Nagaraj.

And one hope it comes sooner than later for this precocious talent from Karnataka.