From farmland to tennis, Indian junior Davis Cupper Krishan makes most of the opportunity

By all means if Sports & Physical Aptitude Test (SPAT) hadn’t happened Krishan Hooda may well have been a budding wrestler and helping his father till land in his village Sanghi in Rohtak.

But a good SPAT helped him get noticed at Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association’s CHART (Chandigarh Academy for Rural Tennis) programme who were looking for new trainees in 2012 and as they say the rest is history.

“It was a call from CLTA which helped me decide. Till then I used to wrestle and also do a bit of running at Pratap Singh Memorial Senior Secondary School, Kharkhoda in Sonepat. The CHART scheme was sponsored by Haryana government then and looked a good opportunity with all my boarding lodging and study taken care of,” the 15-year-old recalls.

Junior Davis Cup

Six years down the line, Hooda, ranked third in India, was part of India under-16 Junior Davis Cup team which played Asia/Oceania qualifying round matches in Kuching, Malaysia.

Till 2012, apart from occasional badminton which was more for recreational purposes, Hooda hadn’t played racquet sports nor had any inclination towards it.

“It was here at CLTA that I learned the basics of the game along with other fellow CHART trainees,” Hooda said, in between the his Championship Series doubles round match which concluded this Friday.

Hooda’s ranking helped him find a place in the India Junior Davis Cup team wherein he featured against Pakistan in doubles along with Dev Javia. India beat Pakistan 3-0, while registered a 2-1 win over Thailand. India lost to Korea 1-2, and eventually losing to Japan, China before winning against Philippines.

Beginning

Hooda’s father Dayananad is a farmer, while his mother Rani is housewife. His elder sister Monica is studying.

“There was a push from the home to take up some sport for physical activity but nobody thought I will eventually play tennis. It has been a fine run so far with CLTA and coaches giving me full support. I would like to continue in the same vein. Now the focus is on improving rankings. So this year I will play more ITF’s (International Tennis federation) events. I will chalk out a plan with coaches,” said Hooda, a student of the Class 11 at DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8. While the present Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government has stopped sponsoring CHART scheme but Hooda has since then been adopted by CLTA.

“I owe everything to the association. I have recently received kit sponsorship from Babolat. They have given me three racquets besides a kit,” Hooda said, who loves playing on hard-court and grass court.

Looking at future

A Roger Federer fan, Hooda has also been part of CLTA annual training trips to Madrid, Spain, which take place under a tie-up with Madrid Tennis Federation.

“Everything has been an eye opener for me. The exposure has helped me analyse myself as a player and see my weaknesses. I still have time and will surely work on removing chinks from my game. All-in-all I have become more focused on my game,” Hooda said, who considers serve and volley his strength.

“My long terms goals include playing junior grand slam and then see that my transition from junior to senior is as smooth as possible,” a confident Hooda concluded.

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