Myra Tennis Cup Winner

Saksham, a TSB Grade 10 student, won both the Under-16 singles and doubles categories in the Myra Tennis Cup that was held in Mysore in January. The results have been a great result for Saksham and made him move forward in his journey as a tennis player. We contacted Saksham to get a better idea of the event and what this means for his future. 

This win is definitely a big confidence booster as I had to overcome players higher ranked than me to go on and win the title – Saksham, Grade 10

The Myra Cup is an All-India ranking Tournament, and is sponsored by Myra School of business and large sports associations, such as Decathlon Mysore. The tournament that took place in the Chamundi Vihar Stadium over the course of 3 days, 22, 23, and 24 January. The Cup had a knockout-based format; to win the title players had to win five matches against other competitive players of the circuit. “The matches were easier in the opening rounds, but towards the later stages, they obviously became more challenging”, says Saksham who has been been playing tennis for about nine years, and started taking it more seriously about 3 years ago.

“I fought through the pressure to win the title, which is a huge win in my books, as earlier I used to be unable to handle such situations”, explains Saksham who has written a book on handling mental pressure and the COVID-19 pandemic. “I am happy to get back with a win on the tour after being unable to play tournaments due to the pandemic in 2020”, says Saksham, who trains four to five hours each weekday and three hours on weekends to stay in shape for matches. “I have made a move in the rankings after getting points from this tournament, making me Top 3 in the state of Karnataka in the Boys Under 16 rankings. I have also moved well in the top 50 for the All-India boys under 16 rankings”, concludes Saksham, who is excited to pick up serious training and playing again.