Asa and Vilasier, chasing the Khates’ tennis dream

Father and son duo shares their special bonding to Eastern Mirror  

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 28

Vilasier Khate, Metba Phom and Lenien Jamir have recently made headlines in Nagaland newspaper over their exploits in Tennis. Today Eastern Mirror is delighted to introduce one of the trio – Khate who is currently based in Delhi and have been playing tournaments in the national circuit, and occasionally outside the country as well.

Khate committed himself to play tennis at the early age of 12.  Yet the real success story lies behind the motivation he received from his father, Asa Khate, who let his kid pursue the dream that he could not fulfil during his time.

Asa Khate belongs to that rare group of Naga fathers who have not only allowed but also encouraged their kids to pursue sports as a career – in an age when most of them are obsessed with their kids getting jobs in the government sector.

Talking to Eastern Mirror Asa explained: “I was ardent sports lover myself when I was younger but never got the platform to pursue it as a career. So I made sure that my children received my support in this venture. Some people earn their livelihoods with a pen and some with tennis racquets.”

Now Khate, with his father’s unflinching support and his own hard work, is reaping rewards as he continues to win tournament after tournaments.  He recently defended his singles title for the third consecutive time at the 4th Northeast Tennis Open Tournament held this year in Manipur.

The 22-year-old, Vilasier Khate, is the second child (among four) of Asa and Nizovono Khate, residents of Nagarjan at Dimapur.

According to Khate: “Tennis was primarily introduced to me by my dad when it was still unpopular in Nagaland then. I picked up the game pretty fast and soon I found myself duelling out with people double my size.

“Everything started from my father. He introduced us to Tennis at a very early age which he learnt it himself by reading books and watching TV (later on he completed his ITF coaching diploma). After a few years, we were trained under a proper coach and started playing regional and national tournaments in and around northeast. All my siblings, and my dad, have won several titles in the state championships.”

Khate decided to take tennis as his career at the age 12 when All India Tennis Association sent their scout team to northeast states to pick five players from each state to train at the National Tennis Academy, Gurgaon in Delhi and he was selected. Thereafter, he cemented his decision to go all out for Tennis.

Asked who sponsored his expenses, Khate said: “My dad has been my sponsor all these years and I work hard in my training and my tours. So that’s how I’ve survived and grown in this competitive sport without external support. Above all it’s God’s grace working in me.”

Despite being a professional player, he always wanted to finish his education and never shied away from it. “I’ve been doing it through distance learning programmes and I’m still undergraduate. I had to skip lots of exams for my tournaments. I want to continue and finish my graduation too,” Khate said.

On his workout, he used to play six hours every day and two hours of fitness and gym. “For Tennis professionals, it is all about training (off season) and competing (tour season) and some sweet home vacations in between which I eagerly look forward to.”

He looks upon Novak Djokovic as his inspiration and his favourite player as well.

“It’s disappointing sometimes when you lose matches continuously in tournaments or face injury problems. Those are difficult times, but my dad constantly encourages me with the biggest heart and tells me to never ever give up and fight every point.”

Of all the trophies that he has collected, Khate identified his first Men’s singles tournament in Valencia, Spain as the one he cherish most.

On advice to emerging players, “work hard and follow your dreams because you can actually make a living out of it if you really want to, contrary to what people think of sporting professions here in Nagaland.”

On the growth of the sport, “Tennis is slowly growing in Nagaland but to take it to the next level we need to build more courts and improve the already existing infrastructures. The government needs to involve more for the sport to grow here.”

On his concluding note, he said “I give all glory to God for it is by His grace I am what I am till now. The Bible tells us “in everything” glorify Him, which includes any form of art or talent or sport. And I try and do my bit in giving my best for the sport to glorify Him.

Some of his achievements are

Junior circuit

Singles – 28 titles

Double – 17 titles

Best rankings

11th in under-14

2nd in under-16

4th in under-18

Represented India at the World Junior finals (u-16), and secured 3^rd place.

Men’s senior circuit

Singles – 9

Doubles -5

Best Ranking – 30th

Bronze medal at the inter-state nationals representing Nagaland