Darrshan braves food poisoning to win title
Suresh defied a severe bout of food poisoning to secure his third ITF junior circuit title of the season at the Tehran Junior Championships (ITF Grade 5) on Friday.
Partnering Iranian Sina Moghimi, the duo notched a straightforward 6-4, 6-4 win over Turkish pair Gokalp Ayar and Furkan Karabulut in the final at the Enghelab Sport Complex.
National coach S. Selvarajoo paid homage to Darrshan, highlighting his extraordinary fighting spirit and hunger for success.
“He suffered a bad case of food poisoning just before leaving for Iran and we tried to talk him out of going for the tournament,” said Selvarajoo.
“But he was determined to go despite his condition. That is just how he is, always hungry and eager to do his best to improve himself.
“He is also like that in training — he just won’t stop, even when you ask him to.
“This is another good result for him, the plan is to keep earning more points in higher grade tournaments and try to qualify for a junior Grand Slam next year.”
Darrshan had earlier this year won the doubles title at Kish Island in Iran and the singles title at Syed Tajammul Abbas Pakistan Junior Championships. Both ITF Grade 5 tournaments were held in February.
All of his tournament victories this season have come on clay, a surprising fact considering that he does most of his training on hard court at the National Tennis Centre in Kuala Lumpur
“Darrshan has a big serve and a big forehand and these are his main weapons. But he is also quite consistent which is a big help when playing on clay,” added Selvarajoo.
“He, however, does need to improve his backhand, net play and also his passing shots, these are areas we have been working on.”