Odisha’s Debasis Sahoo set to represent India in Junior Davis Cup

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Debasis Sahoo is slowly starting to put Lahada village’s name on the sporting map thanks to his ability with a tennis racket. The 15-year-old is in the news after being added to the Indian team for the Asia Oceania Qualifying Zone 2022 of Junior Davis Cup as well as the 2022 Junior Billie Jean King Cup.  

The news drew praise from none other than Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who congratulated the youngster for making rapid strides in the sport.

Back in 2019, Debasis had made his way to the qualifying round of the U-14 Wimbledon Tennis Challenge and the latest news of Sahoo’s inclusion in the national team is an indication of how he is steadily rising through the ranks.

Debasis will team up with Rushil Khosla and Bushan Haobam as India take on the likes of Australia, Pakistan and Indonesia in the Junior Davis Cup event.

Currently, Debasis is the second-best ranked player in the U-16 boys’ category in India. He is also the top-ranked player from the state in the U-16 and U-18 categories.

Debasis, who currently trains at the Farhan Tennis Academy in Bhubaneswar, feels this is a great opportunity for him. “Back in 2019, I got selected to participate in the Road to Wimbledon U-14 Challenge, which was planned to be held at Kolkata. Unfortunately, the event was cancelled due to the pandemic”, said Debasis.

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But that didn’t stop him from continuing to make waves in the domestic circuit and according to him, it all started after a shift in his training base following early struggles.

“In the year 2018, while playing in an AITA tournament at Patiala, I came across Odisha players and got the information from them about Farhan Tennis Academy of Bhubaneswar. I told my parents that I wanted to play for my state and so I wanted to shift to Bhubaneswar to which they agreed. That was the biggest changing and challenging period of my sporting career.

“With the help of my coach Farhan Ali,  I started winning different age groups tournaments in our country. So far, I’ve bagged 35 national medals in different AITA (All India Tennis Association) tournaments. In this journey, the Sports and Youth Services Department, Odisha Tennis Association and my school (KIIT) authorities have extended their support,” added Debasis.

His introduction to the sport is quite an interesting one as his parents wanted the youngster to have a healthy distraction from his fixation with video games with his father Laxmeekanta Sahoo getting him into tennis.  

“I was addicted to computer and mobile games. My parents forced me to take up sports to deviate my attention from that,” he said.  

And things changed after switching to the Farhan Tennis Academy.  

“We made a customised training schedule for Debasis. Now he undergoes five hours on court training and about one to two hours of off-court training five days a week. Special focus on serves and return of serves is given. Debasis will have a bright future if he gets physically fit”, said coach Ali.

According to his father, it has been a struggle financially to keep his dreams on course. “We couldn’t afford his training at any premier club of the country which costs around Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakhs per year apart from the expenses of participating in different tournaments,” said Laxmeekanta.