Sai selected for AITA’s high performance training camp

 

 

By Paritosh Pramanik

Sai Rajesh Bhoyar, a talented tennis prodigy from Nagpur, has been selected for High Performance Training Camp (HPTC) for U-18 girls organised by All India Tennis Association (AITA). The camp is being held in association with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) in New Delhi from February 2.
The camp will be held at at RK Khanna Tennis Stadium.
AITA has selected top 17 girls from all over India based upon their past performances and National Rankings.
Sai, like other players, lost most opportunities in 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdown. She finished 2020 at sixth spot in All India National Rankings in U-16 category.  After winning a bronze medal in Khelo India Youth Games at Gawahati in January 2020, Sai had to wait nearly for a year to step in for some serious tennis activity.
“AITA are endeavouring to bring life back into tennis, through a noble and player friendly project styled - “Roadmap for return to Tennis - Core players” and setting up High Performance Training Camps (HPTC) for elite junior players at RK Khanna Tennis Stadium, New Delhi,” informed Sai’s father Rajesh Bhoyar.
“The aim of this project is to mark the return to tennis of Indian players and to prepare for competitive tennis. The project will have a 16-19 days high-performance camp with prime focus on physical conditioning, providing opportunity to play against and with best players and providing high intensity of an in built tournament. This will prepare Indian players for international tournaments which have now started slowly and steadily,” he added.
Director of the entire HPTC project will be Zeeshan Ali, who is also the national coach.
Zeeshan, a former Indian Davis Cup player who also competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, will be incharge of the training camp
“He will be designing the flow of HPTC in each group, with focus on core objective of development of the players. A team of well experienced physical fitness trainers will assist with the camp. A detailed performance evaluation of each and every player will be done and reported back to AITA and players within 10 days of camp being over.
During the last week, AITA will also conduct an invitational championship for the players of the camp.
Sai will have to stay in the bio-bubble at RK Khanna Tennis Stadium and will have to follow all Standard Operating Procedures.