20 April,2010 07:12 AM IST | | Vivek Krishnan
11-year-old Lalita is taught at home so that she can pursue a Tennis career
Not many children have the luxury of not going to school and focusing on their extra-curricular activities. Lalita Devarakonda (11), who has not been attending school for the last three years to pursue a career in tennis, is an exception.
Hailing from Hyderabad, Lalita was seen showcasing her tennis skills in the Vazirani All-India Talent Series & Maharashtra State Ranking Junior State Tournament at the Vazirani National Sports Academy, Nerul on Monday.
Playing in the U-12 and U-14 categories, Lalita won both her first round matches by beating Dakshita patel 8-2 (in the U-14 category) and Anaiya Kaka 8-0 (U-12).
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Fortunately, for Lalita, her parents have always supported her in sports. They introduced her to swimming, roller-skating and tennis at a tender age. Lalita won a bronze medal in roller-skating at the district level when she was only six years old. But she got attracted to tennis and chose to make a career out of it. Since then she has been making big strides in in the game. Over the last three years, Lalita has travelled to Florida in US to train at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. She also plays on the USTA (United States Tennis Association) circuit, where she has won three U-10 and an U-12 tournament.
Currently she is on a high having won the Talent Series tournaments in Kolkata and Tirupati this year. "If I play to my potential in this tournament the results will be in my favour," she said.
Lalita's mother Padma Devarakonda was grateful to her daughter'su00a0 school. "I would like to thank her school director for allowing Lalita to pursue her career in tennis. I teach her at home and she only attends school to give her exams," she said.
