Bengaluru: When coach Suraj Bikkannavar or father Manjunath SM are busy taking calls after Dhanush SM secures a win in a tennis court, it is not difficult to guess that they are congratulatory in nature. Some of those messages are appreciation for the 12-year-old’s game. However, in most cases, the calls are also to praise the boy for his obedience and honesty during matches.
“He is one of the players who is known to be a very good sport on the field,” Bikkannavar says of his ward.
“Everyone appreciates his fairness. Because generally in these age-group competitions players tend to make a lot of wrong calls, arguments and such negative behaviour. But Dhanush is one of the few kids who believes in fair play. That doesn’t mean he is not aggressive on the field. He is fully committed while playing,” offers the coach who has been training at the Sol Sports Dhanush Academy for four years. child.
Fearless play, mixed with the right attitude, has enabled the right-back to collect several trophies over the past few months. The sixth-grader of Ebenezer International School, Bengaluru, is currently ranked third in the All India Tennis Association (AITA) boys’ under-12 rankings and is likely to be part of the Indian squad for the ITF Asia 12 & Under Team – South Asia Regional Qualifying Event to be held in Kathmandu from April 11.
The rise to the top-3 in the country started when Dhanush won his first National U-12 Doubles Series title in Mumbai last year in May, after which he won two more doubles titles along with three singles trophies. Becoming the national U-12 doubles champion on March 7 was his latest trophy.
Ask him about his favorite win, Dhanush quickly replies, “National series in Bengaluru (December 2025) where I won both singles and doubles.”
Further, the young man appreciates: “The opponent I beat in the semi-finals, I had lost three times before. But still, I made a comeback and then won that match. And then the guy I played in the final had beaten the guy no.
The maturity at such a young age is surprising, perhaps inherited from the humble background of father Manjunath (a kabaddi player turned tennis coach) and mother Kavitha (a primary school teacher) from Sankapura village in Madhugiri taluk of Tumakuru.
“Of course, I want to win big tournaments. Even if I lose, I never want to give away easy points and the opponents have to win by winning them from me,” says Dhanush, who admires Novak Djokovic for the way the 24-time Grand Slam champion carries himself both on and off the court – an attitude the youngster has incorporated into his life.
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Dhanush SM
achievement
National U-12 Series: Winners (2025): Doubles (Mumbai); Doubles (Hyderabad); Singles (Hyderabad); Singles (Nanded); singles and doubles (Bengaluru); Runners-up: Singles (Hyderabad). 2026: Singles (runner-up, Belagavi). U-12 Nationals: Doubles (Winner), Singles (Semifinalist) in Mumbai.
