Game, set, match!

Telangana girls Sahaja Yamalapalli and Y Sai Dedeepya have marked their presence in tennis with their remarkable victory in doubles category in TSTA-AITA Ranking Tennis Tournament. 

Sahaja, with her consistency performance, had also stormed into the finals of women’s single and won the coveted title in the same tourney. The competition was held SATS Tennis Complex, LB Stadium, Hyderabad.

“It feels great to win both titles in the tournament. It was our sheer hard work and rhythm, which won us the doubles title,” elated Sahaja shares.

“If I have to choose one victory amongst the two, then I would say I am happier that I won the single’s title as I won the tournament on my own capability. It surely boosts confidence,” she adds. 

Y Sai Dedeepya says, “My inspiration is Roger Federer and one day I would love to become a great player like him.”

Every athlete has a strict regimen to follow, about her training schedule Sahaja says, “I practice for one session that is three hours a day and apart from practice I also give two hours for fitness and hit the gym. I have to maintain a strict diet and eggs, dry fruits, chicken and sprouts are an important part of my diet.”

About Dedeepya’s routine she says, “I start my day at 6.30 am and to fitness training and at 10 am I start practice which continues till the afternoon and during the evening I hit the gym for an hour.”

Parents play a key role in the success of their wards. Both the girls in unison said that their parents are their pillar of strength and it would have been difficult without their support.

Sahaja is pursuing food and nutrition course in the US and in future wants to contribute to sports in India. “I play college-level tennis in the US and I have secure 100 per cent scholarship there. In future, I want to invest my money in sports in our country as there is no proper guidance system for the youth who wants to pursue sports professionally.” 

Sai Dedee-pya’s aim is to represent the country at Olympics.