Bengaluru, Dec 21 (IANS): In a bid to put Indian wheelchair tennis on the world map, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) in association with the Indian Wheelchair Tennis Tour (IWTT) and Karnataka Lawn Tennis Association, is conducting a three-day coaching camp at the KSLTA courts. The coaching camp, which began on Friday, is an initiative of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and caters to the wheelchair tennis players and coaches as well.

As many as 11 kids including three girls and 18 adults are undergoing the training under Marc Kalkman, an ITF Wheelchair tennis expert who has coached many paralympic gold medallists and world champions including his wife Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch who is a four-time paralympic medallist and an inductee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame(2017).

The batch of 11 includes nine from Anantpur and two from Bengaluru. Amongst the adults, six trainees are from Davangere and two from Dharwad district while the rest belong to the state capital.

Speaking to mediapersons on Saturday, PR Ramaswamy, Joint Secretary KSLTA, said there is a strong need to support the disabled sportspersons in realizing their dream of representing the country. "I salute those people, who, despite being faced by their cruel fate, have shown resilience to continue their passion. We at KSLTA will do whatever we can to help nurture the talent and hope that these sportspersons will bring glory to our country," said Ramaswamy.