Rediscovering… tennis?
Yeah!
Its been a long while now since I played tennis. Thanks to my new ‘Fantastic’ friend circle, I’m now a regular Table Tennis player – somehow manage at least an hour of TT with friends.
And then it happened the last week – I managed to pull Sam out of his lovely sleep and took him along to the Pitam Pura Sports Complex.
(sorry – no route was available, so I created my own – jeez!)
The benefit of staying at Pitam Pura is that you have almost everything right near to your place – 2 metro stations (Kohat & Madhuban Chowk, equally nearer), 2 sports complex’s (Rohini & Pitam Pura), uncountable malls in 5-10 kms radius, etc etc… – of course, if IBM also had a branch in Pitam Pura 
Anyone can get into the DDA sports complex with a minimal entry fee and if you are playing that day, you just need to pay 40 bucks at the entry.
Sam and I were completely surprised when we entered the complex. It is built (almost) exactly how the Rohini sports complex is… 2 badminton courts, 3 tennis clay courts, 3 hard courts for tennis (with 1 synthetic turf) – cafeteria, TT hall, billiards hall – all designed exactly like the Rohini complex! Wow! However, I did saw the volleyball court – which I think wasn’t planned in the Rohini complex. Next time around, I’m going to try Volleyball as well 
We entered the tennis courts thinking it might be a bit tough cracking the existing groups – mingling with the existing players is very important as generally (what I’ve seen during my initial years at tennis) people flock around in groups (even numbers) – so they are never short of partners when playing doubles or singles. If you aren’t known to any group, you are going to find it tough to play against the regulars.
However, there’s another interesting theory about it – and I’ve seen this happening to me personally – long back and very very recently. Instead of trying to socialize with an existing group – you can catch good players attention by grabbing their eyeballs – literally! Just think – what is the other thing that one does on a tennis court besides playing one’s own game? Watch others! – So if you can create a curious interest about yourself – which is just good enough for others to ‘want’ to try a game with you – you’ve done it right. Folks won’t refuse you a couple of games if they know you match their level – or are maybe a challenge… who knows! After all, everyone is there to play – and a good challenger is definitely worth it.
And this is exactly what happened. Last Sunday when Sam and I were playing, though we were completely out of touch, we were being watched. I could feel this. And today, when I invited folks to play – there wasn’t any resistance. Luckily, I managed to win the best of 7 games by 4-2… so next time, i’ll be auto invited to the group – someone needs to settle a score with me now
BTW, a few quick tips for those who are starting Tennis after a long time…
- Carry a towel – otherwise, you’ll end up messing your tshirt…
- Carry bandadges – switching grips frequently would create sore skin at the friction points (thumbs, palm, etc)
- Carry atleast a pair of rackets – Strings break frequently… specially if you hit topspin and are playing after long (arn’t moving fast enough).
- Go along with a partner – everyday isn’t a sunday
- Do some wall practice & shadow practice before hitting the court. Good strokes help.
- Try to keep the ball in play, aim less for the sidelines. Most of the time, your timing & direction would backfire.
- Wear shorts! No leggies… even it its cold. Nobody plays tennis in leggies…
Next pit stop – DDA Sports Complex @ Saturday!
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
