Smashing obstacles in every court

Aayush Bhat, a Grade 10 student from Oakridge International School, Hyderabad on a winning spree. Beating the top seeds of the tournament in Indore, he won the Doubles title recently in ITF Juniors Grade 5 Tennis Tournament, which was held from 22nd – 27th February 2021.

Prior to this, Aayush secured the No.1 position in India in U-16 Boys Tennis by All India Tennis Association (AITA) Rankings. He also secured the runner-up position in Doubles and made it to the semi-finals in Singles at the International Tennis Federation (ITF Jr) Tournaments held in Harare, Zimbabwe. “I am honored to be a part of the International Tennis Federation. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are my inspiration and I’ve always dreamt of being in No.1 in International Tournaments as well as playing in Olympics. I am so excited to play in the U-18 tournament happening at Indore in the next week”, said Aayush.

He started Tennis as a hobby at the age of 8, which gradually he became passionate about and pursued seriously. In 2017, he won his first Nationals Tournament in Singles and Doubles in U-12 Boys Tennis and has ranked No.1 by AITA Rankings. And that is it. He never looked back and always made it into the tops. In 2018, once again, Aayush won the Nationals in Doubles and secured the No.1 position in U-14 Boys Tennis by AITA Rankings. In 2019, he won the Fenesta Nationals in Singles in U14 Boys. He also ranked in the Top 10 in the AITA U-18 Ranking and internationally in the Top 500.

Aayush further said, “My school is very supportive, and teachers are encouraging, who helped me catch up with the missed schoolwork. I am so grateful that they also accommodated my exams during my tournaments, which was very crucial so that I could play and write exams when I am back.” Apart from Tennis, he is also good at Table Tennis and has won Inter-School and State-Level Championships. Not only in sports, but Aayush is a Grade A student throughout, has always been in the top 5 in class in all years.

“We are very proud of Aayush and his achievements. He has been a consistent performer in sports and academics. The encouragement and support he gets from his parents have helped him go after his dreams. His teachers at school also have inspired him to aim for the best and Aayush has continuously made us proud. With a high level of discipline and a positive attitude, he is the epitome of an ideal sportsman. We wish him all the very best in all his future endeavours”, said Hema Chennupaty, School Principal.

Written by Preeti Sahu – Shaping Brands and Inspiring Connections