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S'porean tennis players head to Spain for training stintBy Patwant Singh | Posted: 29 May 2011 0010 hrsSINGAPORE : The Singapore Tennis Association (STA) has sent eight youngsters to train in Spain as part of its aim to develop future champions.The group left late on Friday night.Half a million dollars has been set aside for this batch, but already the association is looking at getting more recruits.14-year-old Rohan Kamdar, the National under-18 boys champion is no stranger to Spain, having been to Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona.And the lanky teenager has packed his bag with more than just tennis gear.He said: "I have brought a lot of food to prepare myself as I am vegetarian, so that I have to bring along a lot of Indian food, (and) food to keep myself fit and healthy. I also try to up my physical fitness... so that I can last longer because I will be playing a lot there."His Singapore coach is fully behind Kamdar's trip to Spain."When he goes there, he will be exposed to a totally different new environment, and they have a different game philosophy because I myself go there quite often and follow their curriculum. So for all the kids involved in this, it will be great learning experience," said tennis coach Boyan Hadjisotirov.Joshua Liu, based in Malaysia, is looking forward to his training stint in Madrid.STA is partnering the Madrid Tennis Federation, which helped select the final 8, and provided the expertise and infrastructure to train the players."They have got like professional coaches who actually trained professional now like Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez. And I also heard they have got a lot of courts there," said Liu.Liu and the other Singaporeans will have a variety of surfaces to train on, as the Madrid Tennis Federation has more than 50 courts. Among them are clay courts, which require more physical effort, patience and a greater technical repertoire to play.After the one-month stint, they will take part in regional tournaments, with a final 4 shortlisted for an 18-month programme by STA."The four players will probably drop school and focus on tennis as a career with the guidance of Madrid Tennis Federation and our own coaches. Based on their almost (being) full time, we expect them to be on distance learning programme," said Quek Tun Lin, VP of STA.The STA is already is looking ahead into the future with plans to expand this programme. More young players will be recruited by next year, which also means more fund-raising to ensure its sustainability.- CNA /ls