Wheelchair Tennis: Players riding on rotating wheels are writing new stories of courage

Indore: 27-year-old Madhusudan from Bengaluru was once despondent after losing both his legs due to an accident, but his passion for wheelchair tennis has given new meaning to his life. Madhusudan, All India Tennis Association (AITA) Indore Tennis Among the 30 players participating in the first National Wheelchair Tennis tournament organized at the club. The competition, which began on Monday (March 27), will continue till Friday (March 31), in which four women are also participating.

Madhusudan, who works in the office of a multinational bank in Bangalore, told “PTI-Bhasha”, “During the year 2008, both my legs were amputated due to an accident. After the accident, I did not step out of my house for three years, but later I realized that if I kept sitting like this, nothing would happen. Then I came out of the house and completed my studies.

Madhusudan says that he had once gone to watch a wheelchair tennis tournament in Bangalore and since then became a fan of the sport. He said, “I have been practicing wheelchair tennis for the last seven years with some gaps. I love this sport so much that I think I will never retire from it. Like Madhusudan, Mitesh, a 46-year-old Mumbai-based entrepreneur, is also a fan of wheelchair tennis. Mitesh told that he was only six months old when he got polio in both his legs while he was also given preventive dose for this disease.

The confident player said, “There have been difficulties in my life after having polio, but I always say “most welcome” to difficulties because it is only when difficulties come that I know that something good is ahead in life. Mitesh said that he decided to play wheelchair tennis for his physical and mental fitness.

He said, “After playing this game, I have learned to accept and respect my body.” AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar points out that currently there are only around 50 registered wheelchair tennis players in India and Bengaluru and Chennai are major centers of the sport.

It is obvious that this sport included in the Paralympics has a long way to go for its expansion in the country. “We have been promoting wheelchair tennis for the last two years as a project. We are also taking the sport to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana by increasing the number of events.” He demanded that the Center and the governments should help AITA to promote wheelchair tennis.