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Journalism of Courage
Shruti Dhawan thrusted her arms skyward,bowed and twirled happily at the net. The spring in her strides was clearly visible as she moved forward to give a consoling hug to Victoria Chahal,the player she defeated 6-3,6-4 in the women’s singles final,to win the AITA-CLTA Rs 1 Lakh Chandigarh Open Tennis Tournament at the CLTA Stadium on Friday. At the age,when most of the players are in the twilight of their career,Shruti has made an impressive comeback after eight years to win her first title. At 31,taking on players who were almost half her age in the tournament,Shruti showed that she remains a captivating force on the tennis court. Before the tournament in Delhi,Shruti played in the ITF $10,000 tennis tournament in Delhi,where she reached the last 16 stage in the singles and quarter-finals in doubles category.
“It feels good to play a tournament after a long time and come out as a winner. The feeling is good,” chuckled Shruti. Those watching her from the sidelines lifting the trophy and savouring the moment knew that it was indeed an impressive comeback from Shruti. They were also aware that it hadn’t been easy for the player who had once represented the country in Fed Cup. Till the very last minute of the tournament,Shruti’s participation in the tournament was not confirmed.
Before taking a sabbatical from the sport,Shruti ruled the court for 15 years,right from the age of eight when she first dabbled in the sport. At the peak of her career,Shruti reached world’s top 500,represented India in Federation Cup (1999),Asia Cup (2000) and became the first Indian women to win ITF women’s circuit masters crown at the age of 16. Riding high in the charts,Shruti forced her way to be among the top five women players in the country but the physical atrocities of the game resulted in a recurring shoulder injury. Unable to see herself competing at the top level again,Shruti bid adieu to the game at the age of 23.
She made an unsuccessful bid to make a comeback three years ago despite reaching the quarter-finals of an AITA tournament three years ago.
“Playing part is not tough as I have done that for almost 15 years. It is training and preparing for the tournaments that is tough. Rigorous training and complete dedication is needed. A lot has changed in these eight years and my playing style has changed too. Now I play according to limitations and with all the experience that I have,I know the mistakes that I am making on the court and how the younger players play their game,” shared Shruti,who has coaching academies at St Anees School in Mohali and St John’s School in Chandigarh.
“Young players need coaches who themselves were active players as they can share their experiences with the players and also work on the mental aspect. Emphasis on these aspects can help the players grow. That was one of the reasons why I took to coaching,” she added.
Despite making a winning comeback,Shruti hasn’t prepared a tournament schedule as of now. “But I am definitely hoping to play more tournament in the coming times,” she signed off.
Sood brothers shine
Meanwhile,Lakshit Sood defeated his twin brother Chandril Sood 6-2,6-3 to win the mens singles title. In the the men’s soubles final,the Sood brothers defeated Rahul Belwal and Ankit Sachdeva 6-2,6-3 to clinch the title. In the women’s doubles final, Manya Nagpal and Riya Bhatia got the better of Ashima Garg and Soumya Vij 6-1,4-6,11-9.
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