New Delhi: The “Education Webinar for Coaches”, being jointly organised by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) from 27 April to 9 May, reached the end of week one Saturday with India’s third highest ranked player (186) on Men’ professional tour, Ramkumar Ramanathan, addressing the Tennis expert panelists and coaches across the nation.
Upbeat Ramanathan, who is also having a daily online group workout session with compatriots, expressed his excitement to join the maiden knowledge sharing webinar in Indian history which has been put together by AITA and SAI.
“We are not at home this much because we play a lot of tournaments. It is a really good break. It’s a blessing in disguise. I have been trying to do a lot of fitness with my friends. We have a core session everyday in the evening. We have fellow tennis players, and I have also been trying to do one hour fitness training which my coach has given” said Ramanathan who is keeping his fitness routines in check during the lockdown.
The 25-year-old added, “The motivation is always there when you are doing it in a group. There are always laughs around. As the days are going, more people are joining. We actually started off with six-seven people from our Tennis centre in Chennai. It gradually increased, Rohan Bopanna has been joining a lot, Leander said he is going to come soon, and Sania Mirza has been coming to the online core workout session very often. Upcoming women’s players like Mihika Yadav, Mahak Jain and Sathwika Sama are regulars. We have pulled everyone together and everyone is staying fit even during these times”.
As the sixth day of the Webinar progressed, Ramanathan talked about his experiences as a professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. “If you are going to a tournament, get to the tournaments two or three days in advance. Mind plays a big role. You have to believe that you can win on any surface, on any given day, even if you are not playing good but if you keep trying and get your rhythm back, you can do it. So, I feel, adapting to any condition and staying positive is the key,” answered Ramanathan to one of the queries from attendees.
Ramanathan made way for the former Davis Cup star and now one of India’s leading Tennis Coach, Nandan Bal, by urging all the attendees, “to keep a positive frame of mind during the Covid-19 pandemic situation and make it count”.
Speaking in Hindi and English both, Bal started his talk with a reference to “Railway Platform dialogue between Dhoni and his senior” in the MS Dhoni biopic and explained what strategy exactly means in. Bal presented in an old-school fashioned style with decades of knowledge put together in the form of hand-written notes and explained nuances of Tennis’ tactical play and strategizing in the sport.
The Webinar completed its week one of schedule today and will resume from Monday with Shiny Chandran taking a session on Nutrition.
The first session of week two will be joined by multiple Grand Slam champion and former world number one Leander Paes.
