Patience pays off for Arun Raj

As a young child, JS Arun Raj was restless and naughty. Unable to control him, his parents introduced him to tennis. A quick learner, he won the Under-16 Kerala State title and later the Under-18 trophy thrice.

At the age of 18, the Thiruvananthapuram youngster played his first state men’s final where he lost to Rynold Timothy. Arun was a promising youngster then, but little did he know that he would have to wait for more than ten years to win the men’s championship.

The 30-year-old was in tears here on Thursday after winning the Virgin State Men’s Championship in his third final, this time against Thrissurs U. Arjun.

I wanted to win badly because I had played my first final here in 2011. I thought Id somehow win the state title and then leave…even if it meant playing at 40, Arun told Sportstar. This is my best day in tennis.

Former stars Binu Mani and Biju Mani molded Arun into a fine player at Thiruvananthapurams LNCPE. Now he plays with youngsters at Trivandrum Tennis Club.

I practice with players like Gautham Krishnan, Suraj and Nithin and it has helped me to play better, said Arun, tax assistant in charge of income tax.

A few years ago, major injuries threatened Arunsi’s tennis career.

Dr. Harish Chandran who performed the surgery for my ACL problem and Physio Rafi helped me through these painful times. Without their support I wouldn’t be playing today, he said.

Now married (wife Aishwarya Babu is doing her MD in Ayurveda), Arun is learning to balance his family life and tennis. And from the looks of things, he seems to be doing a very good job.