THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Manacaud native M S Krishna Kumar is aged 42 years. However, it does not reflect on the fast smashes that he hits during the practice session at Trivandrum Tennis Club, Kowdiar, with young players. The tennis player is selected in Young Seniors Indian Tennis Team (40+) and will captain the four-member Indian team at the 2021 International Tennis Federation (ITF) Young Seniors Tennis World Team Championships at Umag, Croatia from August 12 to September 17.Due to his continuous practice and dedication towards the game, Krishna Kumar is leading the captaincy for the second consecutive year.
For him, the competition is an international affair where he gets to witness new game methods by players from other countries. “Apart from enjoying the game for five to six hours, the championship is also a place where we get new learning, recovery methods and new trends. I feel if one wants to grow in tennis, then taking part in international tournaments will evolve the player in us”.
Krishna Kumar is employed as a section officer in the Finance Department at Secretariat. Talking about the preparations for the post Covid match, he does not hide how the pandemic has affected their practice sessions. “The lockdowns made us lose most of our ground practice sessions. But I maintained the consistency by practising at home and carrying out yoga and sticking to a strict diet followed by aerobic exercises. Also, the international tournament that I attended in Bahrain and Turkey in February and April will aid my performance at the championship at the clay-court in Croatia.
Prior to the match I along with other teammates will attend a week-long practice session at Delhi. The tough teams we expect to face this time are the US, France and my favourite player Roger Federer’s Spain. The tournaments are in Davis cup format,” says the right-hand player who has been ranked 1 in 40 plus players list in the country for three consecutive years since 2019. Apart from his preparations for 2021 ITF Young Seniors Tennis World Team Championship, Krishna Kumar also opens up on the Indian Tennis team lined up for Tokyo Olympics. According to him the women’s doubles team by Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina will make Indians proud in Tokyo and the participation of Sumit Nagal for singles will bring some good news. He also stressed on the need to support talented young players in the state who have the potential to represent the country in future.
“Before Ankita, we have only been familiar with Sania in past years in Indian Women Tennis. Though we have the international infrastructure for practice, we lack strict diet and fitness and exposure to international tournaments. Apart from being a player, I am also a Tennis Committee Member of Trivandrum Tennis Club. It is my dream to bring out potential players from our state so that we can see Malayali players in coveted international events like Grand Slam tennis tournaments in the next few years,” says Krishna Kumar who won a bronze in National Games in 2015.