Gurugram win a huge achievement: Sahaja

She hopes to keep playing as many tournaments as possible

V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

HYDERABAD

For Y. Sahaja, who claimed her second ITF women’s ($25,000) singles title in Gurugram, it was another big step in realising her goal of breaking into the top-300 in the world rankings.

The 21-year-old Sahaja, who has been coached by Ceaser Morales at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence (PDCSE) in Bengaluru for the last two months, said that the Gurugram win was a huge achievement.

“I didn’t have any expectations when I entered the event, as I was taking it round by round. Everything fell in place, and I am glad to have won the title,” said Sahaja.

Like many young kids, Sahaja, too, started dabbling in tennis at the age of 10 at the Saroornagar Indoor Stadium to stay fit, with one of the staff Sattaiah helping her. But as the days passed by, she got hooked up to the sport and joined the Sinnet Tennis Academy.

“Jjoining PDCSE is a huge step as I am now more aggressive and mentally more strong. I have also picked up a few finer aspects in terms of strategy in winning big matches,” the Food Science and Nutrition graduate from the USA said.

With father Bhavani Kumar and mother Supriya deciding to extend complete support to their only daughter, Sahaja has the freedom to focus more on tennis.

“I am working really hard for all-round improvement. The plans are in place and I hope to keep playing as many tournaments as possible.”

A big fan of Serena Williams, Sahaja is hoping to get an official sponsor to enable her to compete in more ITF tournaments. She is grateful to Prahlad Jain for chipping in with financial help. “Even the PDCSE also helps me in taking part in some events.”

She added: “One of my most priceless possessions is the photo with Prakash (Padukone) Sir. The whole atmosphere in the Centre is so motivating that you tend to put in that extra effort and more importantly, keep enjoying the training sessions.”