Proud to be a Russian but war is not the solution: Anna

Proud to be a Russian but war is not the solution: Anna

By Paritosh Pramanik

ANNA Ureke, a “proud Russian”, participating in the Aryan Pumps-MSLTA Women’s $15K Tennis Tournament in Nagpur, feels that war is not the solution to any problem and it should be stopped soon. Russia has invaded Ukraine and the fight has entered fifth day with heavy casualties on the Ukraine side.

Anna, seeded second in the tournament hosted by Nagpur District Hardcourt Tennis Association, shared her views with ‘The Hitavada’ on Tuesday evening in a court-side interview.

Anna said, she has been away from home for quite some time now as she is playing tennis all over the world. She is now not sure how she would be able to return to Russia.

“I have been away from home for a long time as I am continuously travelling for tournaments. I don’t know how I would go back to Moscow after this tournament on Monday,” said the 21-year-old.

Like any other person Anna was appalled with the situation.

“Nobody wants war and it’s very dangerous. I don’t want to be political and I don’t understand politics but I hope that every country and every citizen is safe. I think war should not be the solution,” she said in her broken English.

“It’s a crazy situation now. It is very difficult now to go back home as there are travel restrictions in place from all over the world. The sky is closed. The flights are canceled. I will be booking my tickets on Monday and hope I return safely,” Anna prayed.

“I don’t know who is right and who is wrong. I only know that people don’t want to fight and hope everything will be fine soon. I am proud to be Russian,” said Anna, who is an Economics and Mathematics student at Moscow University.

Anna started her India sojourn with a singles title win at Jhajjar in Haryana. In the final, Anna, who was seeded second, defeated top seed India’s Zeel Desai 6-4, 6-6, 6-4.

In the second tournament in Gurugram, she suffered a hand injury and had to retire midway in the first round against Soha Asdiq. At Ahmedabad, she was stunned by unseeded Akanksha Nitture in the first round.

But Anna, who started playing tennis at the age of six years, is happy with her performance. “Nothing changed from Jhajjar where I won the title. In the second tournament (Gurugram), I was a bit relaxed. I played the doubles final but could not win there. I had pain in my hand in the second tournament but now it is fine. I am happy with my performance,” added the Russian who started her sporting career as a synchronised swimmer.

“I started playing tennis when I was 6-7 years old. My friends suggested that I play tennis for some club. Earlier, I used to do synchronised swimming when I was young. But it has been 10 years since I stopped synchronised swimming and now I am totally concentrating on my tennis career,” said Anna.

Anna does not have any idol and she does not follow any star tennis player. She wants to be herself and make her own identity and climb in top 100 (rankings) in next two years.

“I like to watch everyone but have no idol. I like the games of Novak Djokovic (Serbia), Garbine Muguruza (Spain). I love to play my own game. I have been the world junior number in 2014-2015 and also have won the European Championship,” she signed off.