Confidence marks Sonal8217;s surge

November 7: She looks an unlikely tennis player. Thin, frail, delicate and one really wonders if she can take the rigours of a game like te...

November 7: She looks an unlikely tennis player. Thin, frail, delicate and one really wonders if she can take the rigours of a game like tennis. But once you see her on court, she lays to rest all your doubts.

Meet Sonal Phadke, winner of the girls under-16 title at the just concluded AITA West Zone Junior tournament at the Practennis courts, here. Her run to the winners podium was studded with victories over top-seed Radhika Tulpule and third-seed Sonia Shelar. 8220;I was always confident of winning here,8221; she revealed.

Sonal started playing at the tender age of eight at the PJ Hindu Gymkhana and then shifted base to MSLTA where she still practices. She did not have to wait long for success. The very next year she won the Matunga Gymkhana under-10 title.

A glittering run this year has seen Sonal winning four State-ranking events other than the Zonal at Practennis. These include triumphs at Priyadarshini, Khar Gymkhana, Woodehouse and at Nagpur. Her only loss this year in a major event came in the final of the Bombay Gymkhana tournament where she lost to Sonia Shelar but not before stretching her to three sets. However, Sonal avenged that defeat by beating Sonia in the semifinals at Practennis in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. 8220;For the numerous times that we faced each other, I have managed to beat her Sonia only once. And getting past her, this time, was really most satisfying.8221;

A student at St Anne8217;s High School, Charni Road, Sonal has not let sporting activity affect academics. 8220;I manage to come second or third in my class,8221; she reveals coyly.

But how does she manage both? 8220;I study at night after coming back from my practice sessions,8221; she says. Sonal8217;s practice includes two to three hours of tennis apart from the half-an-hour of physical exercise which she just might have to reduce as she is in the tenth standard. She however emphasises that her parents do not force her to study. Apart from tennis Sonal also plays table tennis and loves listening to music. And of course, she also loves to watch tennis especially Martina Hingis who happens to be her favourite. Sonal is looking forward to the Ahmedabad leg of the zonals. 8220;I hope to repeat the performance there,8221; she says. Current form suggests she could well do so. Here8217;s wishing her the very best.