Agartala, Oct 11 : Tripura was in celebratory mode on Monday, a day after Somdev Devvarman's gold scripted history at the Commonwealth Games (CWG). The tennis sensation, who belongs to the state's erstwhile royal family, is being hailed as a shining star of the northeast.
Crackers were burst, boxes of sweets passed around and congratulatory messages flooded the home of Somdev's parents in Agartala. Residents cheered the 25-year-old's achievement - he has become the first Indian to win a gold in men's singles tennis at the Games, which made its debut in Delhi.
"We would felicitate both Somdev and gymnast Dipa Karmakar very soon," Tripura Sports Council secretary Kamal Saha told IANS.
It was also Somdev's first gold at the CWG.
His father Pravanjan Devvarman, a retired income tax commissioner, said: "We are very proud of him. He put up a very good show. Not only Tripura, but the entire nation is proud of his success."
"Somdev gave his career's finest presentation in the contest and we expect him to play some good tennis in future too," Pravanjan told IANS in Agartala just after talking to his son on the phone.
Somdev won the gold in tennis by outclassing Australia's Greg Jones 6-4, 6-2 in the men's singles competition on Sunday. He left New Delhi on Monday for Uzbekistan to take part in the Tashkent Open tennis tournament.
Somdev's relatives termed his victory as "historic" for Indian tennis. "We are proud of him and we are certain he will do better in the coming days," said Dayamay Debbarman, Somdev's uncle.
The tennis star is expected to visit his home in Agartala soon and will be given a reception by Tripura government and the Tripura Tennis Association.
"Somdev's success proves beyond doubt that there is no dearth of talent in the northeast and that all these bright youngsters need a platform or an opening to prove their capability and ability," Tripura Sports Council secretary Kamal Saha said.
"With Somdev's performance, now the world will know better about the northeast, where despite no scope for developing tennis, there are capable players," he said.
Somdev belongs to Tripura's erstwhile royal family. He is the grandson of Tripura's late royal scion Bikramendra Kishore Debbarman, popularly known as Bidurkarta.
Tripura Tennis Association secretary Sujit Roy said: "Somdev's father Pravanjan, a recipient of 'College Blue' in 1967-68, excelled in table tennis and cricket during his student life."
"We are really thrilled by Somdev's performance and energy. This boy will earn much credit for India in future in the field of sports," Roy said.
According to Roy, after Somdev's series of success during the past few years, the Tennis Federation of India (TFI) decided to develop a tennis court in Agartala for him at a cost of Rs.200,000.
The Tripura Tennis Association has requested the state government to provide land for the proposed tennis court.
Another Tripura player, Dipa Karmakar, finished a distant seventh in the single's event in a gymnastics event with a score of 12.687.
Somdev wins CWG Gold in tennis
India inched closer to history even as Somdev made history himself at the CWG late on Sunday. Somdev Devvarman won the singles Gold to make it his first big international gold medal.
Somdev Devvarman has been Indian men's tennis hope for sometime now as far as singles is concerned and on Sunday he showed once again why he is the great prospect going forward. In front of a packed crowd in Delhi, Somdev thrashed Greg Jones of Australia 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
Starting off a little nervous, Somdev accelerated just when it was needed to break the serve of Jones in the 7th game of the first set to go ahead 4-3. He then held his serve for the remainder of the first set to finish it off 6-4.
The win in the first set bolstered the confidence of the India number one, who wasted no time in racing to a 5-0 lead in the second set. His serve was then broken in the 6th game but Somdev regained composure to finish it off in the 8th game to win the set 6-2 and the match 6-4, 6-2.
'His court coverage as good as Nadal'
Somdev was ecstatic after his historic feat. He was thrilled to see the crowd assemble in large numbers to support him. "I am really really happy and thank the crowd for the support they have extended right through the past week."
Somdev added the key to his victory was the way he attacked his opponent's serve. "I took chances ion Greg's second serve. I got some good returns going and that is why I could get such a good result."
Somdev now sets his sights on t
he upcoming Asian Games in China where he should be a good medal prospect for India. He got a great compliment when Greg had compared his court movement to that of Rafael Nadal. "That is amazing. If I am being compared to someone like Nadal, it feels great."
Source: India Syndicate , IANS
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