A father living his dream through a tennis prodigy

When Gopalrajan was a youngster he desperately wanted to become a cricketer. Today, Gopalrajan and his wife Vinaya Kiran run a retail showroom business in Bengaluru but the father’s sole focus is on turning Srishti into a strong tennis player.

Bengaluru: In India, there are countless examples of parents, especially ones with sporting ambitions, living their dreams through their children. What they couldn’t achieve because of the financial limitations of their progenitors, they go the extra mile to ensure their wards face no such hurdles. Kiran Gopalrajan is one such father who is doing this through his gifted daughter Srishti Kiran.

When Gopalrajan was a youngster he desperately wanted to become a cricketer. But his middle-class parents — father worked in Bharat Electronics while mother was employed at Indian Telephone Industries — wanted him to shun those goals and focus on education, typical of many Indian households then.

Good education almost guaranteed a decent life while sports was a gamble. Gopalrajan’s parents weren’t willing to take that punt and he was forced to bin his bat and pads.

Today, Gopalrajan and his wife Vinaya Kiran run a retail showroom business in Bengaluru but the father’s sole focus is on turning Srishti into a strong tennis player. And at 12 years old, there are enough indications that Srishti could be shaped into a talent with the potential to bring laurels to the country.

Early this month, the seventh standard student of Baldwins Girls High School was selected in the Indian team for the ITF World Junior Tennis Competition 2025 Asia Oceania Final Qualifying Under 14 event at Kuching, Malaysia from April 2-7.

“I'm feeling pretty great because it's my third year in a row playing for India,” a delighted Srishti tells DH. “Last year we won the gold and my goal is to play my best tennis and help India win another gold. This is a great platform for me to showcase my talent.”

According to Gopalrajan, Srishti, while in kindergarten itself, displayed far more athletic ability than kids of her age and that was the moment he realised his daughter could become what he couldn’t — a top level athlete.

“Even when Srishti was 3 years old, she was faster and smarter than kids of her age. I couldn’t become a cricketer because of my parent’s financial limitations. But when I saw Srishti doing things beyond her age, that’s when I realised Srishti could be nurtured into an athlete."

“So initially we just enrolled her into tennis when she was around 4 years old and it was love at first sight for her. She just developed a deep bond with the sport and started competing in tournaments in two years. And even before we could realise, she was winning medals and beating players above her age group.”

Srishti, who has been training under reputed coach Dhyan Uthappa at Tennis Advantage for the last four years, first created headlines when she won back to back AITA U-10 championships when she just 7 years. Next year she made it to the U-12 National Championships quarterfinals and won a U-12 Championship series title when was just 9. 

She took her game notch higher when she won the U-10 Global Junior Tour Dubai Bowl tournament where players from 51 countries took part. Then came successes at ITF World Junior Tennis regional qualifiers where played a part in India winning back-to-back gold.

Uthappa, who has seen several talents come and go, felt there’s something special in Srishti and if she gets a chance to hone her skills at elite academies in US or Europe, she could be crafted into a strong talent. "There's something that is so unique about Srishti, it's not just her tennis skills. A lot of children have tennis skills but she has a god’s gift in balance and timing. You know the sense of balance that she has, I've never seen any other child of her age have that.

“Her natural strength, agility and speed that she has, it's absolutely unique and she's very receptive to learning as well. But now comes the development stage because from 12, 13 to about 17, 18 is what you do ends up becoming your mannerisms and that is a very important phase in an athlete's life. She needs exposure to better players or coaching stints in US or Europe. If she gets that, she can become a champion.”

Srishti, who idolises Coco Gauff and Leander Paes, is determined to become one.

Srishti factfile 

• At 7 years old, Srishti was the youngest ever in India to win back to back AITA U-10 Championships.

• At 8, she was the youngest to make it to the quarterfinals of the National U-12 Championships.

• She also breached the top-50 in AITA U-12 ranking while just 8.

• She won a U-12 Championship Series title when just 9.

• Won the U-10 Global Junior Dubai Bowl tournament where player from 51 countries competed.

• When 11, she won a hat-trick of National U-14 Series titles.