Winning two gold medals in my first National Games is a great feeling: Zeel

With Ankita Raina, Gujarat’s best hope for a singles medal in tennis, unable to participate in the women’s singles category of the National Games due to back strain, all eyes were on Zeel Desai and the youngster didn’t disappoint.

- Soumitra Das

 Zeel was leading 6-2, 3-2 in the singles final against Karnataka’s Sharmada Balu when her opponent had to concede the match due to an ankle injury. Apart from this, Zeel was also a part of the Gujarat women’s team that won the team a gold.

Just before leaving for Thailand to play in a tournament, Zeel told us, “Winning two gold medals in my first National Games is a great feeling. The National Games are happening after seven years and during the last edition, I was still playing at the junior level. So, I was determined to do well and make an impression this time, and I am glad that I could achieve my dream. I distributed sweets among the players and coaches at my academy and went out for a family dinner to celebrate the moment.” Excerpts from a chat: