The national tennis team will take part in the Davis Cup for the first time. The Davis Cup is one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments which is commonly known as the world cup of tennis. The team comprising four players and a head coach will leave for Bahrain on Saturday.
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men’s tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. The head coach and the team captain, Tshering Namgay, believes it is a great opportunity for the team to compete with other member nations.
“For the first time, Bhutan is fielding Davis Cup team. We are in group four and the member nations are, perhaps, participating for the first time or some of them have been participating for several years but we look forward to such an event. It is a good opportunity for our national team to participate and compete with other Asian countries as well as other nations of the world,” he said.
The players said they aren’t completely prepared since they have been training only for three to four months. However, they are determined to give their best.
“To compare the Bhutanese level to the outside players, it’s totally different because most of the players who are representing the other nations, it’s their bread and butter. They play tennis as their full-time job whereas, we have our other personal careers to focus on. So it’s quite a challenge to focus on both. It’s going to be a big challenge but I am hoping we can at least keep up with the game in the upcoming events,” said Tandin Wangchuk, a player.
Despite being a big challenge, the team welcomes this opportunity considered a huge step for the tennis family in the country. The team also believes that in all categories of sports, especially tennis, Bhutan has a bright future with a lot of budding athletes.
Chenga Dawa
Edited by Sonam
