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An American Punekar on tour: Missing school, top grades, winning in tennis
Deshpande’s parents moved to the United States in 1998 and in 2005, she was born in Sunnyvale, California, thereby citizen of the United States
PUNE Saina Deshpande earned a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 victory over Mumbai’s Sudipta Kumar in round one of the main draw at the MSLTA-ITF Junior Grade 3 U-18 tennis championship at the Deccan Gymkhana tennis courts on Tuesday.
However, the 14-year-old’s glory cannot be classified as an Indian’s victory on paper, as she is an official citizen of the United States of America.
Deshpande’s parents moved to the United States in 1998 and in 2005, she was born in Sunnyvale, California, thereby citizen of the United States.
Aged five, Deshpande moved back to Pune, permanently, with her parents. Two years after moving to India, she suddenly switched her focus to tennis. Since then, she has not loosened her grip on the racquet. Participating in her seventh ITF Tournament, the 14-year-old was not inspired by a player, but the sport itself.
“I just liked the idea of a ball-sport. It is an outdoor sport which includes a complete body workout and it is fun. When I first tried it, from that moment I wanted to continue it,” said Deshpande.
However, balancing tennis and academics is challenging for the 14-year-old.
In the last two months, the youngster, who is currently in Class 9, has only attended two days of school. In addition to that, Deshpande is also concerned regarding her upcoming exams which will commence in January 2020.
Deshpande is a student at the Vikhe Patil Memorial School, and said that the staff has been extremely supportive of her tennis.
The school has been lenient regarding the attendance, practicals, and other submissions. Last week, Deshpande was one of five girls who represented Maharashtra at the under-17 national tennis tournament in Karnal, Haryana, and ended up bagging a silver medal, before heading back to Pune to play in the qualifying round of the ITF Junior Championship.
After finishing her journey in the ongoing tournament, Deshpande will be taking a two-month sabbatical to focus on her school work.
Despite balancing academics and tennis, Deshpande’s school’s principal, Mrinalini Bhosale, confirmed that the teenager has managed to maintian an A+ average grade in school, which has been constant since the last academic year.
Last month, Deshpande lost in the semifinals of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) under-14 national tournament in Aurangabad. Saina Deshpande trains with two different tennis academies - under Sandeep Kirtane at the Kirtane Tennis Academy, and at RPTA Tennis Academy under the guidance of Ravindra Pandey.
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“Saina is a classical example of an athlete who can transfer the exemplary disciplines of her game to her academic performance, and vice versa. Children who dabble with sports and academics are known to display a higher level of focused discipline, time management and the greater virtues of patience and a calmness that surprises us.”
- Mrinalini Bhosale, principal, Vikhe Patil Memorial School
“At the age of 10, she suddenly decided to stop swimming and told us that she wanted to focus completely on tennis. We were quite amused after seeing a 10-year-old taking a confident stand regarding her future in sports.”
- Amit Deshpande, Saina’s father.
