Bangalore: In many ways, the year 2013 has been a defining one for India’s tennis ace Somdev Devvarman. It saw the 28-year-old roar back from a year-long injury break and more importantly, establish himself as a young leader of the country’s tennis players’ fraternity.
From battling injuries to being one of the forces behind the formation of the Indian Tennis Players Association, the strappy youngster has proved that he’s a fighter on and off the field.
In the initial days of the season, Argentine pro Juan Martin del Potro summed up the Tripura lad’s battle with injuries well, saying, “It’s really tough to come back after a year without competition. I know how hard he is trying to be back. He’s a solid player. In the future he’s going to go up in the rankings.”
In fact, he did rise and is currently perched at No. 90 in the ATP rankings. Apart from improving on his fitness and game, Somdev has come into his own in the last 12 months.
While he was putting his tennis career back on the road, he’s also become the voice of Indian tennis players, a booming voice which has been heard loud and clear, especially among men who run the sport.
With the season all set to unfold at the Chennai Open next week, Som, who started the year from a low of 664 in rankings, reflected on the year gone by.
“It’s been a good year and also a good learning experience after missing a year due to shoulder surgery. Climbing back into the top 100 is definitely something I’m happy about in 2013,” explained Somdev.
The Chennai Open is a special tournament for the Arjuna awardee. Apart from the fact that it is played in his hometown, it’s also an event in which he has had his best show on the Tour — a runner-up finish in 2009.
“I’m excÂited to be playing in Chennai again. I’m going into the tournament without any expectations. I know I’m playing well right now and my off season has been great so far. So I hope I perform well when I step on court too.”
Talking about his preparations for the event which included a training stint in Hyderabad where a majority of the Indian pros came together to train through an Indian Tennis Players Association initiative, Somdev said, “The camp was great. The coaches and the players worked very hard and a lot of improvements have been made. For the juniors, it was a great opportunity to see how professionals train. For me personally, it’s always nice to spend time in India. That, along with the group pushing each other everyday, it was beneficial and very enjoyable as well.”
As he gets set to hit the high road, the 2010 Asian Games gold medallist, who’ll look to defend his title in the coming year has set himself targets.
“I would like to do better in the Grand Slams and also improve my game to be more of a threat to the guys inside the top 50,” he said.
Karnataka eves in quarters
Karnataka eves in quarters
Karnataka women’s team continued their impressive run as they breezed past Andhra Pradesh 3-0 to book a place in the quarterfinals at the 62nd Senior Volleyball championship held in MoradaÂbad (UP) on Thursday.
In the men’s section, Punjab got the better of Karnataka in a four set encounter. Results: Men: Punjab 3 bt KarnÂataka 1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19) Women: Karnataka 3 bt Andhra Pradesh 0 (26-24, 25-14 & 25-16)
Andhra Pradesh in cruise mode
Andhra Pradesh men’s team had an easy day at office as scored a comfortable 3-0 win over PondiÂcherry in the 9th Youth South Zonal National Volleyball ChampiÂonships on Thursday.
Results: Men: Andhra Pradesh 3 bt Pondicherry 0 (25-20, 25-11 & 25-16). Women: Tamil Nadu 3 bt Andhra Pradesh 0 (25-11, 25-07, 25-10)
HASC survives CMP challenge
HASC edged past CMP 69-66 in the State ‘A’ Division basketball league championship for Prof. N.C. Parappa memorial trophy at the Sree Kanteerva stadium on Thursday.
Results: KSP 84 (Sanath 26, Mahesh 17) bt BSNL 78 (Ajmal 24, Rohit 14) HT 49-45; HASC 69 (Czer 19, Kaushal 15) bt CMP 66 (Nesa 27, Rajesh 15) HT 35-39; ASC 39 (Ajmal 10) bt KoramÂangala SC 31 (Abishek John 18) HT 20-13
Swimming camp from January 4
Nisha Millet’s Swimming Academy will conduct weekend and weekday classes for children and adults from January 4. The camp will be conducted at various venues across the city. For more information, contact 9845398443.
Reddy to lead State U-19 team
Abhiskek Reddy will lead the Karnataka U-19 cricket team as they take on Vidharba in the Cooch Behar Trophy from Dec 29- Jan 1 at Nagpur.
Team: Abhishek Reddy (Captain), Abhishek AP, Rishab G M, AbhÂinav Manohar, Vishnu P, Sharath B R (WK), Suhas S, Aditya Somanna, KN Bharath, Prateek Jain, Shimon Luiz, Milind V R, SonÂuak Biswas, Avinash D, Nischal D. Coach: R Muralidhar, Vijay Madylkar. Physio: Sriranga. Manager: Y B Basavaraj. Selector: Samuel Jairaj Muthu. Video Anlayist: Nandish
‘Thanksgiving Run’ on Sunday
Luv2run, an organisation promoting good health through sport will conduct a 5Km ‘ThankÂsgiving Run 2013’ at the Cubbon Park (Hudson Circle entÂrance) on DeceÂmber 29. The run, which will begin at 6.30 am is open to the public and is being organised in support of the Open Door FounÂdation. For details contact: SanÂdeep 991601Â8661 or visit www.luv2run.in.
