ARRIVAL OF Somdev Dev Varman

By Sunil Yajaman – AITA Development Officer

I had seen him as a 10 yr old playing an Under 12 event in Chennai when his father was just transferred to Chennai. He looked focused, liked being on the court & enjoyed the attention. I was quite impressed with his walk & concentration at that age & the athleticism he showed is still very fresh in my mind. I would definitely not say that I haven’t seen a kid like this before, I have seen many of them who have just vanished or never made it when it mattered. To be frank I did not even think that this player would go on to reach the present level. He never was a very successful player at the ages of 14 or 16. This was Somdev Dev Varman for you with a flash back of 9 years. Yesterday (14 Mar ’04), he picked up his first Professional Title at the Kolkata ITF Futures; this is Somdev Dev Varman today & aiming to go higher!

He was picked up by AITA under the AITA Tennis Advancement Program (TAP) 1 year ago & has been training under the umbrella of the National Tennis Academy. He was then ranked around the Top 80 in the World In Juniors & 1200 in ATP & has grown out of the Juniors since 1 Jan 2004. The problem with Indian Tennis has always been that the Successful Juniors never had a successful transition into the Pro circuit. To prove it all wrong, Somdev Dev Varman has sensationally entered the Professional Circuit with a big Bang. This is the first Success Story of AITA Development Program where a Junior has made a smooth & a Quick Transition into the Pro Circuit. Somdev Varman at the age of 19 Yr 1 month, also created a history by becoming the Youngest Indian to win an ITF Futures. This positive feeling was also experienced earlier when 3 other boys Karan Rastogi, Divij Sharan & Tushar Liberhan created flutters in the Senior Level. But, this victory of Somdev which is the best among the lot only gives faith that the Indian players are capable of achieving what has often called ‘Impossible’ by many critics. These boys & a few others like Rupesh Roy, Sanam Singh, Navdeep Singh, Jeevan Nedunchezian, etc have the heart, will & more important of all the hunger to excel in the tough sport of Tennis.

Somdev’s victory comes in a tough field of participants where 2 of Indian current Davis Cuppers – Rohan Bopanna & Punna Vishal also participated not to forget the other Indian Internationals like Vishal Uppal, Mustafa Ghouse, Vijay Kannan, Ajay Ramaswami, etc. The field also included players like Todor Enev (ATP 297), Yordan Kanev (ATP 458). He also beat Indonesian Davis Cuppers Febi Widhiyanto & Prima Simpatiaji who are seasoned players & ranked in the Top 600 of the World on his way to the title. Prior to the tournament, Somdev was ranked in the 900’s of the ATP Ladder & he now jumps by about 300 places to around 680 in the World with the 12 points he earned with the title. As per the plan, Somdev Varman was expected to settle down in the Pro Circuit during the first six weeks of this year & then start going for results. He was expected to peak at the age of 22 but, looks like even that would be earlier than expected. The success story of Somdev has been phenomenon. His first International success was when he won the ITF Junior Grade 4 Title in Mumbai during Sep 2002 & again during the Grade 3 in New Delhi during Jan 2003. His best in the Junior Circuit was semifinalist at the ITF Grade 1 in Malaysia during Mar 2003. He had also made an impact when he reached the Semifinals of the DSCL Mens Nationals during Oct 2002 at Delhi. His other big wins in the Men’s circuit during the past few months include: Aisam Qureshi (#306), Orest Tereshchuk (#345) & Jonathan Erlich (#473). Somdev Varman had been a part of the disciplined program of BAT in Chennai for 3 years. His inputs have been from coaches like Abbas Ali Baig & Ilyas Hussain in Chennai who have provided him with good fundamentals.

Somdev’s Program for 2003 included few Men’s Tournaments along with his Juniors, which was aimed at giving him the necessary exposure so that he could start off his Professional campaign as a cat which had already smelt the ‘blood.’ He was a part of the AITA Grand Slam Team to French Open, Wimbledon & US Open apart from the East Asian Circuit during March 2003. After the US Open, he was made to play two IF Futures in USA skipping the Kentucky Grade 1. I’m sure Somdev Varman has set an example for many other Junior Players in India & will be an inspiration to a few other hundreds. The strong point of Somdev’s success has been is Parents. They have been the ones who have supported & encouraged Somdev’s passion without applying any pressure or expectations. Somdev looking at other parents, often said that he was lucky to have parents who would never talk to him about his Tennis. There has been absolutely no interference from his parents & they have never even called up to ask how he has been doing. They have always very enthusiastically fulfilled anything that was required of them. Somdev would only seek the emotional support from his parents whenever he needed & that’s what a successful Tennis Parent is supposed to do.

In this present circuit of ITF Futures, while the Indian performance was quite disappointing in the first two (the best being Vishal Uppal’s semifinal appearance in Chennai), everyone wondered the status of Indian Men’s tennis. Least expected, Somdev was to become the cherry by winning the last one & make the country proud. This gives confidence not only to him but the whole system & the ambition to go higher for everyone involved.

For all those who are only talking about Indian Women’s success in Tennis, believe me, there is more to cheer about.