Isha Lakhani Thread....

Post by **jayakris** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 4:26 pm

As I said in another thread that I will put a thread on this, here goes.

[Q1] Isha Lakhani (IND,NR) d. #3 Maria Vento-Kabchi (VEN,169), 61 76(1)

Lest we forget, this IS the biggest story from the WTA Hyderabad, in my view.

One of the biggest upsets in I can think of, in Indian tennis in a long time. Yes, isha lost in the next round to Manisha, but she proved something in this match. I don't care if Vento was sick or jetlagged or whatever...

Not a word on that match in any newspapers or anywhere. The only thing I have seen so far was that Sania was thrilled to see Isha winning, as she was being interviewed by the rediff guy right next to the court. Why didn't he go across and watch the match?

Isha needs some support. Perhaps "team Isha" is also to be blamed a bit in some haphazard planning that we don't understand, but Isha by all means deserves some credit and coverage for what she did as a 17 year old.

Nirupama actually sent me a note within a few minutes of that match score coming up on the website. She was amazed!

I wish somebody out there in Hyderbad had noticed.

Jay

vishnureddy · Post by **vishnureddy** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 5:11 pm

But the media persons are obsessed with Mirza here

. They can't notice any other players than Mirza and Pierce.

Post by **Dhruv** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 6:19 pm

Well I decided to post this here instead of the Sania thread not because I think Sania gets too much coverage but because Isha and other junior players do not get enough. I agree Isha's win is the biggest thing for India from the tourney and second to that is Manisha qualifying into the main draw. Now if Sania/Mary go on to win the doubles title (which I doubt) then maybe the rankings will change for me atleast.

Isha unfortunately for some reason has not helped her own cause by not participating in ITF tourney's in India and also not travelling a lot during the juniors. Case in point the Aussie Open jnrs and the Grade 1 before that where Karan and Somdev went. Also last year she didn't get the best of draws at the Pune or Mumbai ITF events. Also I don't see her name in the Chennai or Dharwad events. Yes, if she wants she will get a WC but that is besides the point. She should atleast put her name into the entry list. Come on don't take things for granted.

I could go on but I digress and in conclusion I think, yes Isha's win is huge but the fact that she hasn't got as much coverage as Sania is has a lot to do with the differences in team Isha and team Sania to coin Jay's phrase. Hopefully someone (Globosport??) can pick up Isha sponsor and bring along with Sania. Anyway, that was my rant for the day

gvhvhg · Post by **gvhvhg** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 10:14 pm

I suppose Isha is being overshadowed

SaniaFan · Post by **SaniaFan** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 12:47 am

Why can't these two girls travel together? They'll have good practice partners and will be easy on sponsers as well. And why two may be top 4-5 together

SaniaFan · Post by **SaniaFan** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 12:51 am

BTW she gets more attention because I think she is more consistent and also because no Indian has defeated her for over 1 1/2 year now!!

Post by **jayakris** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 4:36 am

True, SaniaFan. Sania is the best prospect out there, and has not lost to an Indian in quite some time.

But that is no reason for the press to completely miss the boat on saying something about Isha's superb win, the best WIN in Indian women's tennis by anybody other than Nirupama, since God known when!

Jay

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 4:53 am

Manisha's qualifying into the event is also a pretty big story, although she only beat a player ranked 299 in the final round to do so. Isha, of course, did a big favour to Manisha by removing the seeded player from her section of the draw, but Manisha still had to win three matches to get in -- and full credit to her for getting in.
Incidentally, it appears that Sania/Pierce run into the firm of former MB partners -- Iroda Tulyaganova/Elena Likhovtseva (seeded 1) -- next. It would be terrific if they can pull off a win...

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 5:00 am

The match is the fourth on Centre Court (expected around 7pm IST) on Thursday. Pierce plays her singles match there first up, followed by Tulyaganova. Mary should be a tad better rested!

Daniel · Post by **Daniel** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 5:34 am

I was also quite disappointed that Isha got no mention in the papers. I guess they didn't follow her to much. Besides, the pressmen may not even have heard of Vento before and so probably didn't think Isha's win was all that surprising. Just a theory.

Daniel · Post by **Daniel** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 5:35 am

Manisha's 1st round performance also went unnoticed, except for a mention in the "scores" section below the articles.

SaniaFan · Post by **SaniaFan** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 3:49 pm

This is in Response to Jay
Well I never said that others should not get attention I was just trying to explain why Sania gets mot attention

. Actually It should have been on the other thread. The one in which ppl were talking about why Sania gets all attention. My mistake.

I feel our problem should not be why she gets so much attention but why others are not getting it. Sania getting a lot of attention is good thing because this will attract more kids towards the game.

amr090 · Post by **amr090** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 9:49 am

this is simple....if you want attention...WIN! no ifs or buts....you want media, then go out there practice your a** off and win. Sania gets attention cuz she is whoopin up.....the only thing with these girls is Indians are already prone to complacency and the last thing we need is the one promising 16 yr old getting full of herself.

On another note have you heard of this kid Rupesh Roy?....hes really young and ranked high as crap amongst the boys.....looks like he has major talend in the next few years I could see him winning big. In the recent ITF tournament he did pretty well I saw. No one seems to talk about him much buy hes my sleeper pick

Post by **jayakris** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 4:13 pm

Hey, Isha DID win a big one, and that was my point. Nobody seemed to notice.. Really, it's not as simple as that. You need to plan properly, deal with people properly, handle the media properly, give them news at the right times and not let them forget, etc. Player management is not a simple thing. In Isha's case, I really don't know whom to blame, but things have not all come together properly, as far as media exposure and other things are cncerned.

Then again, it is not as though there is any huge catastrophe here. Isha is not an unknown or anything, and pretty much everybody knows she is among the very best we have, along with Sania and Ankita.

As for your comment on Rupesh, we did discuss him some three weeks back. I just brought up the thread on Victoria juniors, where I had mentioned how a lot of people are surprised how well he has done (right at the top of the 18s ranks as a 13 year old late last year). I was talking about how those who doubt his age and are probably unnecessarily wasting time!

On the other hand, I have not heard much about how the coaching and technical training is going for Rupesh. I believe Paes en Sport has him under their watch though.

Jay

amr090 · Post by **amr090** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 7:44 am

yeah hopefully, he gets some adequate training....it seems to me this is as clear a sign of talent someone can show, and it will be wasted if use isnt made. People always talk about the Russians having legions of young talented players. At 15-16, they are already up on the senior tour or damn close to it. As soon as we see talent like this in a 13 year old, the sooner we should groom it. The earlier he hits the higher ranks, the more time he has to improve and make a mark in tennis.

The Sports-India Community