By Naveen Mahajan
I just love getting out on the tennis courts in the morning. Tennis fascinated me as a school kid and I would literally enjoy watching those gruelling battles between the greats on television – Edbergs, Beckers, McEnroes, Sampras & Graf. That was the time when serving deep and advancing to the net to finish with a nicely directed volley was the norm. But off and on, you would get to savour those engaging rallies as well. Those long engaging rallies were like poetry in motion.
Tennis has a very peculiar system of winning points, games and sets. And it intrigued me as a child. but I could not never get to play this beautiful sports till I got into the IAS.
My school and college did not have that luxury then. It was in my IAS training academy in Mussoorie that I picked up a tennis racquet for the first time. And gradually built my own game…painstakingly over these years… bit by bit… on my own without getting coached by anyone… investing in my own distinctive style… instinctively… intuitively.
Tennis is like running a marathon. It is for those who can dig in the heels for a really long journey. If you want to test your own character, pick up a tennis racquet.
Tennis is a much tougher game to master because it is extremely difficult to control a hollow fuzzy ball with a racquet on a big size tennis court. You will be tested for your endurance and perseverance to the very core when you embark on this journey to excel in tennis. By the time, you become proficient in skill sets and stamina, you realise tennis is more of a mental game. Battle to clinch matches in tournaments is more psychological than physical.
Having played tennis now for over two decades, I can now vouch for the fact that my whole life has transformed for the better. Tennis is a life philosophy. It makes you brave each time you grapple it out with a stern rival on the courts. It makes you own your lapses and be accountable for what you do.
You win if you play better and you have none to blame but your own self if you lose. You shed this weak habit of making excuses in life. Tennis makes you creative. You have to literally craft winners.
Those perfect drop shots or precise lobs after calling your opponent at the net or those deep angles while serving, I can tell from the way a certain player performs in tennis in a tournament what kind of guy he should be in real life – his traits lay bare while he plays.
The writer is a tennis enthusiast, champion player and senior IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre. He is currently serving as Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Rajasthan.
