Wrestling and football are synonymous with this inland city located in southwest Maharashtra — Kolhapur. However, off late tennis has made inroads into the city, and two of India's top players (different age group) have sown the seeds of this change.
Sandesh Kurale, and Aishwarya Jadhav, both from Kolhapur, are making headlines. Kurale, emerged the U-18 national champion, while Aishwarya is country’s number one in the U-14 category.
Ironically, this city known for it temples has produced junior champions but none of them have taken it beyond that. These two players – Kurale, from Channekuppi village, in Gadhinglaj taluka and Aishwarya from the city are in a different league.
This is because of brothers Arshad and Manal Desai whose Arshad Desai Tennis Academy in Kolhapur has changed things for the better. It’s no surprise every national junior male tennis champion in India from 2016 has come from a city.
Tennis is considered an elite sport, which requires access to courts in clubs or academies, structured training and deep financial resources to make it to a certain level even in the domestic circuit.
Kurale’s early tennis lessons came largely on a makeshift court made by his father on their fallow farmland. Athletics was Kurale’s first love, but he took liking for tennis during one of the visits to Kolhapur city and watched children playing on a single court. His father, Dattatray, put him under coach Uttam Farakte in Kolhapur, where the boy would go every weekend to train.
“Tennis was more fun than running. Also, matches were longer and it was an individual game. I enjoyed it,” Kurale says of his initial attraction to the game.
Dattatray, a farmer who also runs a tea stall with his wife in Gadhinglaj, decided to use his farmland, converting a portion into a makeshift clay-court. Kurale continued to train in his makeshift court and in Kolhapur for a few years until Arshad Desai (coach at Aurangabad’s Maharashtra tennis association (MSLTA centre) and his brother Manal opened an academy in Kolhapur.
“He stood out as a kid,” says Arshad. “He would never say no for anything; no matter what I asked him to do. He has a different level of dedication and commitment to hard work.”
After shifting to the academy full time, his makeshift court has seldom been used in the last few years. But hours put in on that dusty village court in his formative days helped lay a strong foundation for two areas of his game—serve and fitness.
“His serve has a strong base, which we worked on quite a lot,” Arshad says, pointing out that Kurale is already six feet tall.
“He has also focussed a lot on fitness; even without access to a gym he has a muscular body. In any case, most village boys have a naturally strong build, and this boy is also hard working. He never compromises with his diet.”
Meanwhile, Aishwarya came out of her comfort zone and upgraded her game style. After her consistent stellar performances in her new form, the 13-year old achieved India number 1 standing in the U-14 category.
“It was one of the goals I wanted to achieve. I played my best game and I am glad I made it,” said the elated teenager.
For the past two months, Jadhav has been playing consecutive matches and outperforming her older self. With her new form, she clinched three singles and four doubles titles in both Under 14 and Under 16 categories in the last month.
Maintaining consistency in her tennis, Jadhav also managed to find herself in the top 10 in the Under 16 rankings.
Jadhav also trains under brothers Arshad and Manal Desai at the Academy in Kolhapur, while Sandesh trains in Pune.
