Initially me being a little boy, I was crazy after cricket like everyone else at that stage, but my parents put me in Tennis as it’s an individual sport. Hence, I have been playing Tennis from 8 years old. However tennis suited me so well as I had to play with my hearing aids on all the time. Slowly, I got absorbed and involved in the sport. At the beginning, I faced lot of difficulties but overcame with my determination.
In 2003, I started playing competitive Tennis. Later, I realized my passion for Tennis and In 2006, I joined in Chennai Tennis Centre which is located in Anna University. Since then, Mr. Suresh Kumar and Mr. Balaji are Coaching me.
I must say that initially I had enough share of losses Under-12 and Under-14 Categories but slowly things became better as I gained more match exposure. The constant encouragement and guidance from my coaches greatly helped me.
Coming to my achievements, I won a Major Doubles Title in 2008. Then, I won Singles Title Under-18 Category in 2011 which was a State Ranking Tournament. I did B.Tech from SRM University based on my sports merit and continued to play Tennis. I represented SRM University in All India Intercollegiate Matches. We won many matches in the period 2011-2015. I continued my post graduation in SRM University under sports quota and finished MBA. 2015-2017, was an unforgettable period in my life as I brought some memorable wins.
Parallelly, I played and won many AITA tournaments. Meanwhile, I also played some key tournaments Under National games for the Deaf and won the Titles in 2013 and 2017. I was selected to represent India in the Deaflympics 2013 in Bulgaria and Deaflympics 2017 in Turkey.
The 2017 Deaflympics was a very special event in my life as I won the Bronze in Mixed Doubles, The First ever medal for India in Tennis under this category. Now, I rank 45 in AITA for Singles and My World Ranking in Deaflympics stands at Top 10.
However, without my parents continuous encouragement and support, this wouldn’t have been possible. I am also fortunate to have such wonderful, friendly, knowledgeable and dedicated coaches at Chennai Tennis Centre who guided me in the right direction at all the times. Am extremely Thankful to everyone who has brought me to this level today.
By Prithvi Sekhar