Nothing is impossible for wheelchair tennis champions Prathima and Shekar

NT Bengaluru: Tough challenges set by friends and the indomitable spirit to succeed despite heavy odds, have helped the duo of Prathima N Rao and Shekar Veeraswamy to emerge champions in the Singles’ category of the State Level Wheelchair Tennis Tournament at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) lawns here on Sunday. Their stories are of pain, resilience and the resultant success. It has also shown how tennis, mostly played by the elite, has become a source of inspiration for commoners like Rao and Veeraswamy. Ten-year-old Shekar, who was a ball boy at the KSLTA lawns used to dream big despite his humble beginnings at his house near Double Road in the city. “I had seen the likes of Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Pete Sampras and always wanted to serve them,” he recalled, just after beating his opponent Basavaraja Kundagi 6/1, 6/0 in the Men’s singles final. An accident in 2005 forced a left leg amputation, bringing the life of Shekar, now 36, to an abrupt standstill.

“It was very difficult to even place food on the plate for the next few years. It felt like my life was over.” he said. It was then that T Sitharaman, coach and General Secretary of the Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Federation of India, convinced Shekar to take up Wheelchair Tennis. “It was in 2010 that I started off, without knowing how to play and control the wheelchair,” he said. His career progressed with wins in national level tournaments (Singles and doubles wins in 2011, 2013 and 2015) and Medals in the Malaysia and Thailand Opens (Gold medal in Men’s singles and doubles).

Veeraswamy has set his eyes on improving his rankings. “That will help me gain sponsors and elevate my game,” he concluded. In Prathima N Rao’s case, It was a ‘challenge’ by her friends when she started off playing wheelchair tennis on the weekends in Bengaluru, that set her off for the heights. “It was in 2012 that I took up wheelchair tennis as a hobby,” she explained. She has a Caliper on her right leg due to polio related complications. “My tryst with the wheelchair was a difficult one. I had to work on it for a month to get control. I remember running the entire lawn with it!,” she recalled.