Jaipur

Australian tennis coach Todd Clark, who has worked in the Indian tennis circuit for close to two decades, is quite impressed with the Khelo India initiative as he feels it has given a sense of purpose to teenagers, who can be "troublesome" when they are "bored".

Clark came to India in 2008 and is presently working for the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Odisha as a Director of Tennis. He is guiding his trainees at the ongoing Khelo India University Games here.

He was a part of the Indian contingent for the 2025 Summer World University Games in Germany where Vaishnavi Adkar won a historic women's singles bronze. It was India's first-ever women’s tennis medal and second-ever medal at the event. The previous medal, a silver, came in 1979 from Nandan Bal.

"There is nothing more troublesome than a bored teenager. What these games have done all over the country is that they have given these teens opportunities to pick up sports and excel at them and eventually make a career. Sports also inculcate character," Clark told 'SAI (Sports Authority of India) Media'.

"These games are going to promote health and wellness among the youth. Furthermore, the infrastructure will get a boost. I am quite impressed with the facilities that I have seen in Jaipur so far," he said.

After coming to India, Clark worked for the Harvest Tennis Academy in Punjab. He has since worked in Gujarat and Haryana. He was with the Indian contingent when Vaishnavi Adkar of Pune won a women's singles bronze medal in the 2025 Summer World University Games.

Clark believes India has a lot of potential in tennis despite the fact that the country has not seen much success in the sport.

"I think India has a lot of talent. Though I believe talent identification could be better. Counselling kids on what sport to pick could also be better. For example, you need to be a certain height to be a good tennis player, 6 feet or thereabouts.

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"So if you are, say 5'4", your chances of being a top-class tennis player are very low, so you should pick up another sport that suits you. So, it's important players are advised in the right manner," he said.