Chandigarh: 26-year-old lawn tennis coach faces his 16-year-old trainee, lifts title

Chandigarh: 26-year-old lawn tennis coach faces his 16-year-old trainee, lifts title

On Friday morning, as 26-year-old lawn tennis coach Paramveer Singh Bajwa was facing his trainee 16-year-old Arjun Rathi in the men’s final of the CLTA-AITA National Ranking Tennis Championship at CLTA, Sector 10, Bajwa was playing in a final at the stadium for the first time in six years. A two-time former India U-16 champion, Bajwa scored a 6-3, 6-3 win over Rathi in the final to win his first title after his retirement as a player in 2020.

“As a player, it was an emotional moment for me to make a return to the court. The fact that I was playing against my trainee Arjun Rathi in the final today was a motivational thing for me. A lot of my trainees were cheering from the stands and I wanted to win the title to set an example as a coach. Arjun played well too and I am glad that I could win the title this week,” said Bajwa who now works as a coach with the Roundglass Tennis Academy at Chandigarh Club.

A Jalandhar native, Bajwa had relocated to Chandigarh to train. The youngster had become the Asian U-14 singles and doubles champion in 2012 before winning the U-16 national title in 2013. Bajwa then defended his title in the U-16 nationals in 2014 apart from captaining the Indian junior Davis Cup team in 2014. The youngster had reached the career high ITF ranking of 268 and also played in ITF Future tournaments in Europe. Bajwa had started coaching in Portugal in 2019 to sustain himself and returned to India to train tennis players at the Roundglass Academy last year.

“Making the transition from junior to ATP Future tournaments requires a lot of funds and when I shifted to Portugal, whatever prize money I won by playing in tournaments was fully spent on my expenses. I had to start as a coach there to sustain myself and when I got an opportunity to coach kids at Chandigarh, I returned here. My aim is to help players achieve what I could not achieve at the international level,” said Bajwa, who also won the men’s doubles title pairing up with another of his trainees, Atharva Sharma.

Arjun Rathi, 16, who hails from Rohtak, was one of the 15 tennis trainees selected for a full scholarship by Roundglass Tennis Academy last year. It was Rathi’s first final appearance in an AITA tournament. He was also cheered up by his elder sister Anjali Rathi, who won the women’s singles title with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Ishwari Anant Matere later in the day. “Playing against Paramveer sir is always a motivation. He was playing after a long gap but he knows all about our strong points as well as weak areas. It’s good to see him winning again,” said Rathi.

For the latest news from across India, Political updates, Explainers, Sports News, Opinion, Entertainment Updates and more Top News, visit Indian Express. Subscribe to our award-winning Newsletter Download our App here Android & iOS