Dubai: Former Indian tennis star Zeeshan Ali is hopeful of building careers of young aspiring tennis players, including those from the Gulf region, through his residential tennis programme at his Zeeshan Ali Tennis Academy (ZATA).
The programme was launched at the Bengaluru premises of ZATA three months back and it has already attracted 10 youngsters, including a promising ten-year-old kid from neighbouring Oman.
Conferred with the Dhyan Chand Award in 2014 and the Mother Teresa International Peace Award in 2011, Zeeshan spent more than a decade and a half in the UAE training youngsters through his Match Point Tennis Academy.
However, the former world number two in juniors and five-time Indian national champion moved back to his native land and started the ZATA, that houses six tennis courts, a 25m swimming pool, a gymnasium, cafeteria, running track and changing rooms.
After nearly four years and more than 200 kids making use of his expertise, Ali finally decided to take the next step and start the in-house programme. The new tennis programme includes accommodation, complete diet, five hours of tennis and fitness training every day.
“Starting with seven and eight-year-olds was the best thing I could have done. After four years these kids have reached a level that makes me happy. Some of them are already ranked in the top-five in various age categories in India,” Ali told Gulf News.
“I have been lucky with the support given to me by the AITA. Starting the academy is my way of giving back something to the sport that has made me what I am today,” he added.
One of the most promising juniors is Ashutosh Tiwari who hails from Lucknow. “The boy has already started winning under-18 tournaments in India and that is a great sign. All the hard work put in so far is bearing fruit and this gives me a great sense of satisfaction,” he said.
“We are headed in the right direction and it would be lovely to have a few kids from the UAE and the surrounding countries come and make use of the facilities we have,” he added.
