Trichy boys wins bronze medal in Asian Championship, gets grand welcome

TRICHY

: The city gave a rousing reception to a young

tennis player

upon his return after his team won the bronze medal for India at the 5th Asian School Tennis Championship held in Indonesia.

Platform 1 of the Trichy railway junction wore a colorful look on Tuesday as budding tennis players and their coaches welcomed the 15-year-old city boy, RS Rajesh Kannan, who was back after making it to his first international tournament as a member of the Indian tennis team.

The Indian team won bronze at the championship tournament held in Solo in Indonesia from August 19 to August 28. The tournament saw the stiff competition from eight countries from Asia. Team India, which made it through the quarter finals, lost to Malaysia in the semi-finals.

“It was a great experience to play for the Indian team for the first time. The support from my family, coach, district sports officer, all helped me reach such a level. My aim is to represent India and bring more laurels to my country with my victories,” Rajesh Kannan told reporters at the railway junction.

A Class X student of

Campion School

in the city, he is the son of KR

Subramanian

, a businessman from Cantonment in Trichy. Rajesh was a swimmer before his focus turned towards tennis eight years ago.

“He got injured during a swimming competition, after which he showed interest in tennis from the age of seven. His involvement and dedication made him win almost every game in the state, national and international level. So, I encouraged him to focus on this game,” said his father Subramanian.

Naming Rajesh Kannan the first tennis player from Trichy to reach international arena, district sports officer C Punnia Moorthy highlighted the coaching he received from the tennis coach at the

Synthetic Stadium

at Anna Stadium of Sports Development Authority Tamil Nadu (SDAT).

Tennis coach Suresh appreciated the tireless effort of Rajesh Kannan and the support from his family besides the coaching here. “Unlike other sports players, tennis players from cities like Trichy don’t get sponsorship. The boy’s father spends for his tours in India and foreign countries. I hope after his international debut, he will get more sponsors,” said coach Suresh.

As many as 70 students have become regular visitors to the synthetic stadium for tennis coaching.