‘Yuki has to build muscle’

The Bhambri household always had the confidence that Yuki would do something exceptional, but the kind of success they were expecting came two years sooner than they had aimed for.

“He has done better than we expected. We were hoping he would achieve something like this by the time he would be 18, but he has done it at 16,” said his mother Indu, conceding it has been a fantastic day for the joint family of the Bhambris, who have been inundated with phone calls from well wishers and enthusiastic media persons.

“In the past few days though, the expectations had risen, especially since he was ranked No. 2 in the world. I think he has shown his potential and it is time we start concentrating on the senior circuit,” said lndu, who has often been seen beside the courts when Yuki and his elder sisters Ankita and Sanaa competed over the years.

Having followed her children’s progress, Indu also understands the game pretty well. “He is still growing. He needs to do weight-training to firm up his shoulders and gain overall strength so as to be able to play more aggressively. But as far as his game goes, he is really smart with it and knows what to do on court,” said Indu.

Yuki, who scored a facile win over Germany’s Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas at Melbourne Park, was accompanied by his coach Aditya Sachdev. “We are hoping to get some sponsorships after this achievement, but on the other hand this success also gives us the confidence to invest more in him. I have put my whole life into my children’s tennis, but this has been a fantastic day for us that has made it all worth the effort,” she said, even as her husband Dr. Chander Bhambri proffered tea and sweets to reporters and photographers at their bungalow in the posh Gulmohar Park colony of south Delhi.

The Bhambris have been interested in sports even though the previous generation did not have any achievements. Dr. Chander and his three brothers, however, encouraged their children, the success of Yuki’s cousin Ekta Bhambri in table tennis (she was a national level player and is now a sports psychologist) giving them the confidence to push their children into sports.

“Yuki is happiest playing tennis. There is never any struggle with his game, but it is the discipline that goes with it that really bores him. He knows he has to sleep at 9, have a balanced diet. These are the only things that he struggles with,” said Indu.