Class X student Aditya Iyer thrilled after conducting ball boys tournament

Aditya Iyer

Aditya Iyer, 15, a Class 10 student of Dhirubhai Ambani International School, is elated that he was able to successfully conduct a tennis tournament for ball boys at Tuff Tennis Academy, Juhu, under the aegis of Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association on Sunday. What makes this tournament special is the fact that he was able to bring smiles on the faces of 26 participants and also give the winner - Aman Patel of Goregaon Club - prize money of Rs 3,500 and a Babolat tennis bag.

Azharuddin Shaikh from the Tuff Tennis Academy in Juhu was the runner-up and Basya Jollu of Practennis Academy was adjudged the best player of the tournament.

"I don't have words to describe the feeling of seeing these ball boys compete in a tournament. And collecting R20,000 to be given away as prize money was my way of doing my bit for them. I have always noticed ball boys helping all the players on the court, but they never get their due in terms of respect or recognition for their services. We managed to provide participants with breakfast and lunch. We gave away prize money to players from the quarter-finals stage and trophies to the winner, runners-up and best player," Iyer told mid-day.com.

Aditya Iyer will all participants

Azharuddin, the runner-up, hopes to spend more time focusing on his game after participating in this tournament. "We all really enjoyed playing the tournament. I am very happy to have reached the final and hope to focus more on my game and to improve whenever I get a chance to play on court," said Azharuddin.

Aditya Iyer with the winner of the ball boys tennis tournament Aman Patel of Goregaon Club (centre), runners-up Azharuddin Shaikh (extreme right) from the Tuff Tennis Academy, Juhu and best player of the tournament, Basya Jollu (second from left) of Practennis Academy at the Tuff Tennis Academy, Juhu.

Iyer felt the hardships that the ball boys faced during the lockdown is what made him come up with this idea of conducting a tournament for them. "Most of them come from underprivileged backgrounds. Many drop out of school as well due to economic reasons. The recent pandemic resulted in the shutting down of academies and clubs for many months. When they resumed, I got to know of the hardships they faced with the loss in income. I have also noticed some of them being quite enthusiastic about tennis and trying their hand at the racquet when given an opportunity. This made me think that this is probably as good a time as any to do something for them. I thought a small tennis tournament with prize money and some goodies will be a good way for me to bring some enthusiasm back for these ball boys," said Iyer, who raised the funds on the crowdfunding website, Impact Guru.