DHAKSHINESWAR SURESH // INDIA'S DISCOVERY IN TENNIS

 

 DHAKSHINESWAR SURESH 
 INDIA'S DISCOVERY IN TENNIS

Dhakshineswar Suresh is India's newest Davis Cup star. A late bloomer, at 26, mid career by tennis standards, he is beginning his journey in professional tennis. 

6 ft 6 in tall, Dhakshineswar had to battle a debilitating lower back injury. It had cost him two crucial years of his career. He had managed to outwit the disability through physiotherapy. He reflects, "It was 30 weeks of torture. Those days were awful."

In the Davis Cup fixture against Netherlands in 2026, India could sail through because he had won his two singles matches and on account of his excellent performance in the doubles. His coach, Tony Bresky, revealed, "He's got an explosive game. a very big serve, a big forehand and he comes to the net a lot. He has great hands too, which made him stand out in the doubles."

Dhakshinaswar dreams of breaking into the top 250 at first. It would earn him a place in the qualifying draws of the Grand Slams. His ambitions extend beyond that. "The next step is the top 100. That would be a big achievement. I have big dtreams. But obviously it's very very tough in tennis. I'll take it step by step."

If there is one thing that Dhakshineswar understands, it's the distance between adversity and achievement.

He had travelled that path - the years 2018,2019 and the pandemic were brutal - in mind, body and tennis. It took him from a debilitating lower back injury - a disc bulge - that left him unable to sit or stand for 30 weeks, to serving aces to seal India's Davis Cup tie.

Suresh, his father, had been a former third division cricketer from Dindigul. He was a part time actor as well. Suresh sold his cable TV business at Dindgul and shifted the family of three - himself, Bano, his wife and Dhakshineswar to Chennai. He perceived his son had to be there for a solid  future. 

They survived at the city because Bano had found a job as an accountant. She was the sole breadwinner for the family, while Suresh was taking care of their son's venture into tennis and tournaments.

Suresh had introduced his son to tennis with the belief that he should "shine individually."

He says, " When he was born, I told my wife in the hospital itself that our son wasn't going to be a doctor or an engineer, he was going to be a sportsman."

Ten years ago he was spotted in a camp organised for players  by Somdev Devvarman, who had turned to coaching aftter climbing to career high ranking of 62. He was struck by Dakshineswar's work ethic. The hard yards didnot scare him. At 16, he was competing with professionals in the camp. He had even outperformed them in some of the drills. It was at Somdev's insistence, "Uncle, better send him to college. You don't have a penny in your pocket and he needs to grow as player,"  Suresh was  convinced to send his son to US. 

Dakshineswar had joined the Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for his graduate studies and to further his prospects in tennis.

According to him, he has improved a lot as a player over the past four years. 

He reminisces, "I have seen how it works. That's why I'll be based in the US. It'll definitely help me become a better player."

There is no visible rush in his approach. But he exhibits a quiet conviction that his path does not have to mirror anyone else's timeline.

Tennis in India had all time greats, Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj and many others. They had taken the country forward when they were on the court.  Their departure had left India with a persistent dearth of talent on the world stage. 

Dakshineswar Suresh has the makings to be their  worthy successor.

He is an eye opener to the teeming millions in India who struggle to do well in life.

Prajwal Hegde in The Times of India of 23 June 2026 raises the question,"Can India's late-blooming giant crack tennis's top 100?"

ALL TIME VIEWS CROSS 150000

 

When all time views of this blog crossed 150000 mark on 18 June 2026, Wednesday,   the happy news  was relayed to my mentors, Rev. Dr. C.I.David Joy and Rev.Dr.Santy.S.Paul, the Principal and the Registrar of the KUT Seminary, Kannammoola, Trivandrum, Kerala, India. Rev.Dr. C.I. David Joy is the President of the Senate of Serampore. 

"All time views, today, at the moment, are 150762. I am indeed grateful to my viewers, when I observe that  all time views have surged to 150762 on June 18, 2026.

The journey had taken 15 years to reach the 50000 mark.

However, from 50000 to 100000 it was a 6 months' hop.

Capping it, in a leap of 44 days, the views have exploded from 100000 to 150000

I praise God for enabling me travel this far.

I am indebted to the viewers for accepting me"

It evoked this wonderful response from Rev.Dr.Santy.S.Paul

That's indeed a recognition that what you share makes sense to those who read and hence it is  well received.

1.5 Lakh views for a blog is not that easy (even for a video content, it is difficult)

I am really happy for you.

Keep going.

You are indeed an inspiration

And I replied

"You are indeed an inspiration," has bowled me over.  Thank you for the elevating and invigorating compliment. I had no idea on the probabilities of blog viewership when I had commenced.  I was pleasantly surprised when it began to rise across the globe. It's the encouragement you have given that urges me to prod on with vigour

Prof. Babu Zacharia had recently told me, he liked what he had read. He said he found it conveying from heart to  heart. 

The well known Professor had taught English at the Marthoma College, Tiruvalla. 

CABO VERDE IN FIFA WORLD CUP 2026

 CABO VERDE IN FIFA WORLD CUP 2026

Cabo Verde's exploits have become a universal moment of inspiration for ordinary people.

When Cabo Verde, ranked 67, played Spain,.ranked 3, in the World Cup, it was like eleven men playing with the passion of outgunned soldiers taking a last stand. It brought back  the rapture of romance and power of dreams to the World Cup. Spain emerged from the game with a point and an early lesson. 

Never underestimate your opponent.

The game had unfolded like a thriller.

Cabo Verde proved that talent is omnipresent. They committed just one foul in the 90 minutes, the lowest in a World Cup game since 1966. .They showed poise with the ball. They attacked with gusto to the best of their ability. They achieved their goal without scoring one. No neutral fan needed goals in the goalless game. 

Cabo Verde forgot that their opponents were tipped to win the World Cup.They forgot that their opponents were elites from Barcelona, PSG and Man City.They played rivals, not million dollar babies. They replaced productive algorithms with unpredictable heat. There was more to their game than despertately guarding their citadel. There was a rising degree of desperation in the Spanish team. 

Cabo Verde's dream run continued on Sunday, 21st June 2026. Their players were again undaunted by the reputation of their opponent. They scored first in the match. They held the two time world champions, Uruguay, to a 2 - 2 draw. 

Helio Varela, who scored the final goal in the match to make it 2 - 2 said,"I had dreamed of this. But I never imagined it would happen this way.. Scoring my first goal for the national team on my World Cup debut is incredible. I have no words."

Cabo Verde coach summarised the teams's attitude, " Once you are on the pitch, a lot of things become equal."

Weaving magic in their two appearances on the World Cup stage, Cabo Verde teaches us that the challenges in life are never insurmountable.

They are there to bring the best out of us. 

The composition has as its base the wonderful article'World Cup's Already  Found Romance' by Avijit Ghosh in the Times of India of June 20,2026 and reports in The Times of India of 21,22 and 23 of June 2026.                 

FEASTING ON SCAPEGOATS

 

Barbosa was the Brazilian goalkeeper who conceded the decisive goal that led to Uruguay's 2 - 1 triumph over hosts Brazil in the 1950 World Cup final.

50 years after the game, a woman in a shop spotted him. 

"Look at him", she told her son, "He is the man that made all of Brazil cry."

Unfortunately, the newspapers and  the TV news channels in Kerala are moving heaven and earth on a drive to feast on scapegoats. For them, the rulers of the State on date are the convenient scapegoats.

They feed on negative news. They feed negative news. The gullible public toe their line. They depend on ventriloquism. They make people sing their songs. 

Since the supposedly  have nots far exceed the haves - though have nots are no longer have nots - the have nots are happy to vent their intolerance of rulers of the day through the media.

The media thrive on the ratings.

Sans scapegoats they can't ever do that.

TRANSFORMING YOURSELF

 

Inspire people

Improvise

Find the purpose of your life

Success is non-negotiable 

Never try to impress people

Pursue satisfaction

If you have a spiritual outlook towards life, you will be able to accomplish whatever you set out for.

IF SHE IS TALLER

 

What if she's taller, richer, older or better educated

Happy is the man who ignores it and listens to his heart

Gulf in stature is never a deterrent for those who strive without inhibition 

QUALITY // ADAM GRANT // THINK AGAIN

 

Quality means rethinking, reworking, and polishing.

One should not be ridiculed for going back to the drawing board.

He  must feel he is celebrated for that.

You have to revise your thinking based on inputs from others.

Critique the work rather than the author.

Avoid preaching and prosecuting

Show humility and curiosity.

Upgrade your own criteria 

Redefine your standards 

Discuss and debate how excellence should unveil itself.

Education is not the information we accummulate. It's the habits we develop as we keep revising our drafts and the skills we build to keep learning.

Good teachers introduce new thoughts, great teachers introduce new ways of thinking. 

Collecting a teacher's knowledge may help us solve the challenges of the day.

But understanding how a teacher thinks can help us navigate the challenges of a lifetime.

Quality alone delivers a dynamic metamorphosis.