Poona recently hosted the ladies 10,000 Dollar ITF tournament. Local girl Radhika Tulpule emerged the winner when she defeated S Vijaylakshmi in a marathon 3-hour tension filled match to lift the trophy.

Poonabest spoke to Radhika and asked her how she felt on her win:

Q. What is your feeling on winning your first championship?
A. It feels great after winning on home court. There was definitely a lot of pressure as I was playing in a final in front of my home crowd for the first time.

Q. In the final you lost the first set- what was the reason for the loss?
A. I think I started off slowly, probably because I was playing the finals and playing in Pune. I started losing my concentration towards the end of the set and hence lost the first set.

Q. Radhika in the third set tie breaker - you came from behind to grab the match?
A. The tiebreaker was tough as I was trailing, but I knew that I had the stamina and the will to fight and I was keen to win the championship in front of my home crowd. I guess I pulled out all stops to win the match.

Q. After your win in the semi finals, how confident were you about winning the final? 
A. The win in the semi final gave me the confidence to win the Final. Confidence is the key to winning matches.

Q. Coming to the semi final, in both sets you squandered the lead you had over your opponent to win the sets narrowly. What is the reason for this?
A. The heat got to me and I guess I started letting my thoughts wonder on about the upcoming final match. Basically it was a lapse of concentration on my part that let the opponent come into the match.

Q.  What do you plan to do after the tournament?
A.  I will now be concentrating on my studies-I am appearing for my 2nd year B.Com examinations which start from the 14th of May.

Q. Your mother was seen in the stands whenever you were playing a match. How big an influence is she on you?
A. A tremendous one. She has only recently stopped accompanying me on matches outside Pune. Throughout the current tournament she was a constant source of encouragement to me.

Q. Radhika, what made you take up tennis?
A. In the beginning I used to play Table Tennis but I was fed up of playing indoor games. My brother who is now in the States took up the game and I followed him.

Q. Do you have a coach and what role does he play in your game?
A. My coach is Nandan Bal, who has been coaching me for a long time. He spends a lot of time with me after a match telling me the mistakes I have made during it and making me practice to iron them out.

Q. Lastly what do you do in your free time?
A. I am fond of listening to English and Hindi classical music.

Interview by: Rahul Surkund
Photos by: Hari Krishna