All that glitters

By Tharuka Dissanaike

It was not difficult to make them out. Even in a school full of Nepali, Indian and expatriate students, Praveen and Vindya Dayananda, the only Sri Lankans there, looked, well....Sri Lankan.

But what makes them special is not the fact that they have lived in the Himalayan kingdom for ten years but rather that this brother and sister duo are Nepal's current tennis champions. Praveen 16, is the country's under 18 national champion while Vindya 13, is Nepal's women's national champion.

Tennis was a sport that the whole Dayananda family took up for recreation when they lived in a provincial town called Narayanghat in southern Nepal. Praveen and Vindya's father runs Tuborg Beer in Nepal. The family was based in Narayanghat where the Tuborg plant is located until the children started schooling. Their father still works in Narayanghat, close to Nepal's most famous National Park, the Royal Chitwan and the family meets at weekends.

"Our parents took up tennis to keep themselves occupied", Praveen recalled. "There was not much to do in that area and the Tuborg quarters had good tennis courts."

While the senior Dayanandas developed a taste for the sport, quite naturally Vindya and Praveen took up tennis as they grew up. Today the family plays together as a foursome-team in tournaments. Last January they bagged the Ambassador's Cup in Kathmandu, competing against expatriate players, winning two tickets to Singapore as well.

Praveen began playing in tournaments when he was barely ten. Vindya considers herself lucky that she has her big brother around for practices, tournaments and training camps. The pair juggle a hefty school curriculum-they are studying for British exams, with almost daily tennis coaching. After school, which closes at 3 p.m., Praveen and Vindya cycle to their club to play a few rounds of tennis. Their trainer is an experienced coach who conducts camps in New York and Japan as well. The duo has taken part in international tournaments also. Last year they participated in the Delhi Nationals and met stiff competition in the qualifying rounds. Praveen was beaten in the last qualifying match but Vindya made it to the quarter-finals in the doubles of her age category.

Their parents sponsored a few weeks of coaching for Praveen and Vindya at Rameshkrishnan Camp in Madras from December to January. "Every day we had six hours of play", said Vindya, recalling those sweaty sessions. "We also met some Sri Lankan players and made quite a few friends at the camp."

From Madras the duo came to Sri Lanka to take part in another international tournament, the ITF (International Tennis Federation) on January 17. This was one of their rare-perhaps bi-yearly- visits to Sri Lanka, so the family took the opportunity to travel and relax on the beach at Weligama after the tournament. "We did not even want to think of tennis", said Praveen laughing.

Being Sri Lankan citizens domiciled in Nepal, they now find it hard to secure sponsorship for international tournaments. "There are limitations as to where our parents can afford to send us. Even to play in Delhi is very costly- we have to stay in good hotels and have the best food to perform well. If we had sponsors we would be able to play in many more regional tournaments."

The children also say they would like to represent Nepal internationally but such an opportunity has not come their way. The All Nepal Lawn Tennis Association cannot sponsor Praveen and Vindya because of their nationality.

Despite the obstacles, the pair aim high in tennis. But their feet are firmly rooted to the ground. "We want to go for big-time tennis", Praveen said. "But we have to put our studies first for now."

More Mirror Magazine

Return to Mirror Magazine Contents