Tiny tots tennis
Sports coach SANJIV DUBEY takes his wards to the Medibank International Tennis tournament in Sydney
Sanjiv Dubey of Footwork Sports Academy leads his wards on to centre court
Some of our community’s youngest tennis players were thrilled to be part of the tennis euphoria associated with last month’s Australian Open season.
Select students from the Footwork Sports Academy (FSA) at Wentworthville won a chance to demonstrate their skills at Sydney’s Medibank International Tournament.
A lead up to the Australian Open, the Medibank International Tournament attracts top players from all around the world. This year the men’s singles’ title was won by Giles Simon who defeated world number 4 Viktor Troicki. The women’s singles saw the emergence of Chinese player Li Na, who defeated Kim Clijsters in the finals.
It was also camera, lights and action for children from the Footwork Sports Academy (FSA), an official deliverer of MLC Hotshot tennis program based in Wentworthville. The children of the academy had a rare opportunity to play on the Ken Rosewall Arena centre court at Sydney Olympic Park tennis centre on January 14.
These talented youngsters showcased their playing ability and talent, and the next day, were rewarded with an opportunity to meet many of the international players, and even have a hot or two with them. A special highlight for them was to interact with Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna, and then to see him in action, fighting hard in the doubles with his partner Asim Qureshi from Pakistan. The duo, famously known as Indo-Pak Express, went down fighting in the semi-finals of the tournament, coincidentally on the same court where the children had played the day before. The Indo-Pak pair played extremely well but lost in super-tie-breakers to Australian Paul Hanley and Czech Lukas Dlouhy.
The unique experience of playing on centre court and meeting champion players will remain a fond memory for the students of the Academy and will perhaps, inspire and motivate a few more to take up the game more seriously.
Participating children and their parents were offered an entry ticket into the grounds and a seat in a reserved section of Ken Rosewall Arena, to view the on-court demonstration by their kids, some of who were as young as five.
FSA’s MLC Tennis Hotshot program is a fun and exciting way for children to get involved in the sport of tennis. Promoted by Tennis Australia, the program is aimed at children aged between 5-12, and it uses modified courts, racquets and balls to keep the game fun and easy. The program is based on the ‘learning through play’ philosophy, where children serve, rally and score.
FSA with the help of Tennis NSW had organised an internal lead up tournament to choose the top 8 children for the Sydney International event. Parth Khanna, Dhanush Vijay Kumar, Tejash, Jash Patel, Jai Shah, Dave Sarang Dubey, Ayush Gupta, Sanjay Nambisan and Bhumika were the lucky kids who were selected. With Tennis Australia’s ongoing efforts to promote the game within the young, this significant initiative has met with moderate success especially amongst the migrant population. The trend is changing and it might take a few years before we see a world number one coming out of Australia; perhaps someone of Indian origin will take the lead, bringing laurels to their adopted motherland in the international tennis circuit.
FSA thanks the staff of Tennis NSW and particularly Matt Starr and Kathryn Schulz for reaching out to the kids from the migrant community and engaging them during this mega tournament. For further information on the sport visit www.tennis.com.au
