And yet, it was there that the sport wiggled into the imagination of B. S. Chandrashekar and then dangled the possibility of an alternative future.As the son of coffee estate workers, Chandrashekar couldn’t afford many dreams, but he had the discipline to plot a vision. Chandrashekar’s measured gamble pushed him to sell off the family’s little land and pledged all the gold they could to start a tennis academy in Bengaluru’s HSR Layout.It started with a single court in 2011. The Sri Sri Tennis Academy now has six courts and an extensive list of young talent. But his most promising offering to the sport was sitting at home.Thanush Shekar B. C. was seven years old when Chandrashekar spotted that the young one had the frame to become an athlete. Lithe is the best way one can describe the boy, but the father saw more.“I noticed that he had power in both his hands while returning the ball,” Chandrashekar tells DH. “Also, he had great skills when running. As a coach, you tend to notice the way people run and how they can shift directions quickly. That’s something that came naturally to Thanush. He was always very good with movement, and that’s when I realised that I could push him a bit more and see where it takes him.”Well, as of today, Thanush has won five All India Tennis Association National Series titles and two Super Series titles at the Under-12 level. The consistency of those performances meant he became the top-ranked Under-12 player in the country in January this year and also the youngest one to achieve that feat.“I love playing the banana shot,” says Thanush with barely concealed glee. “I love Rafael Nadal. I want to play like him. I want to become the best in India.”In this innocent rendition of all the things he loves, wants to do, and dreams of, all in a single sentence, you can deduce that the boy is but a boy, and he’s being allowed to be one and not forcefully mature before his time.Chandrashekar, you can catch the theme here, has planned this out too.“We let him come and share everything with us as a family. Even if it’s the stupidest thing, we hear him out because playing a sport can become boring if you don’t allow them to have fun, especially at this age,” says Chandrashekar. “So, there’s no pressure on him, even in tournaments to win, because we tell him to not worry about all this.”“We also ensure he only trains for an hour and a half a day and then does some hitting practice for an hour,” he adds.Thanush might be the best for now and at this specific age group, but the future won’t be kind to him, and for that, he needs to get stronger, learn to play longer, and tune into the mentality champions have. Surely, Chandrashekar has a plan for that too.
