Who is Samir Banerjee, the Indian origin winner of Wimbledon boys title

It was a proud moment for the tennis fans in India as well when American player of Indian origin, Samir Banerjee, won the Wimbledon boys’ single title on Sunday (July 11). It was just the second time the 17-year-old was  participating in any Grand Slam event.

Here’s what we know about him:

* Samir Banerjee is 17 and he is from New Jersey in the United States of America.

* He played without a coach in the tournament and his regular trainer Carlos Esteban wasn’t with him since his wife had reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

* Samir’s uncle Kanad accompanied him in absence of his coach.

* He earlier played in the French Open but he says ‘he lost to a good player.’

* Samir’s father Kunal was born in Assam, and his mother Usha was brought up in Andhra Pradesh before both migrated to the USA in the mid-1980s and got married there.

* Legendary Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj congratulated Banerjee and said, “Wonderful win for Indian American 17 yr old Samir Banerjee in the boys singles at Wimbledon 2021. Wish him well for a great future.”

* The youngster, reportedly, will take a break from the tour to enrol for a degree in either economics or political science at the Columbia University in the coming months.

Facts

* Yuki Bhambri was the last Indian to win a junior singles title when he triumphed at the Australian Open in 2009 while Sumit Nagal won the Wimbledon boys’ doubles event in 2015 with Vietnam’s Ly Hoang Nam.

* Ramanathan Krishnan was the first Indian to win a junior major when he won the 1954 Junior Wimbledon championship. His son Ramesh Krishnan won the 1970 junior Wimbledon and junior French Open titles while Leander Paes won the 1990 junior Wimbledon and junior US Open. Paes was also a runner-up at the junior Australian Open.

(With inputs from PTI)