Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Tennis coach Indra Kumar Mahajan from Madhya Pradesh created history by winning a bronze medal in the Tennis World Individual Championship 2023 held in Antalya, Turkey. He is the first tennis player from Madhya Pradesh to achieve the feat.
Mahajan used to run a tennis academy in Bhopal. He won bronze for India in the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals of World Tennis Tournament in the age group of 35 or above. Mahajan teamed up with Joe Cooper of Britain to beat Nikolai Soloviev-Alexey Jyrukalov of Russia 6-3, 7-6, and defeated them 15-13. In the quarterfinals, Mahajan-Joe beat third seeded Ivan Korol and Alexander Tolkashev of Serbia 6-3, 7-6, 12-10.
However, in the semi-finals, the Indo-British pair lost 2-6, 2-6 to second seeded Toni Holzinger and Jan Jansen of Germany. Mahajan saved five match points in the pre-quarterfinals and 10 match points in the quarterfinals.
Mahajan said that winning a medal for the country was his dream. "I started playing tennis, and that dream came true by winning the bronze medal in World Tennis Tournament. Playing in Turkey's weather was more of a struggle. I competed there in 7 degrees and managed to win a medal."
Mahajan added, "March 10 was the last date for entry in the tournament. A day before the last date, Joe messaged me on social media and urged me to play with him. I gave my consent after giving it a thought. Joe has been participating in this tournament for the last three years but has not won a medal. He competed with me this time and we managed to win a medal because of our better coordination.”
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