Bhubaneswar: Kabir Hans is flying high.
The No. 1 men’s tennis player of Odisha, who became the first from the state to win a title (men’s doubles) at the Fenesta Open National Hard Court Championship in New Delhi last October, earned his first ATP point at the ITF Men’s 15K tournament in Kish Island, Iran, earlier this month.
Not one to rest on his laurels, the 21-year-old aims to win the first ITF men’s title for Odisha and become the highest-ranked ATP player of the state.
The Bhubaneswar lad, who was felicitated by Trupti Enterprises Director Suvendu Mohanty, has set practical goals for himself as he knows moving to the next level requires a humongous expense.
He needs a support team of personal coach, trainer and physio, besides opportunities to travel abroad to play several ITF tournaments, especially in Europe.
It wouldn’t have been possible for him to reach this stage without his family’s support. His parents Chetan and Shelly Hans have made a lot of sacrifices to add wings to Kabir’s tennis journey, but it will no longer be possible for them to provide the kind of support he needs now.
The Odisha government, Odisha Tennis Association (OTA) and a few private enterprises have provided him some funds and support. But that’s not adequate to excel further in a sport like tennis.
Kabir thanked Trupti Enterprises, all his coaches, KIIT University, OTA, Sports Department of Odisha government, the media fraternity, his friends, family and well-wishers for their support thus far and said he looked forward to the same in times ahead.
Amongst others who were present to apreciate and encourage Kabir were Sports Director of KIIT Gaganendu Dash, OTA’s Sambit Patnaik, his former coaches Ajay Nishank, Subhranshu Sarangi and Lalit Dash, current coach Jaimin Mehta, Anil Dhir and Satyabrata Sanu Ratho.
