When two boys who were playing with sand on the banks of the Seti Gandaki River were brought to Pokhara Stadium to teach tennis three years ago, Gandaki Province Tennis Association President Binod Kayastha could hardly have imagined that they would soon be playing in the Junior Davis Cup qualifiers.

Binod Kayastha was among the throngs of mourners at Ramghat in Pokhara. He was preparing to return after attending a relative's funeral, but a sight from the banks of the Seti River stopped him. Some boys were jumping into the river from a high cliff and swimming. 'Courage or stupidity!' A question arose in Kayastha's mind. But another thought came to mind, what if this courage could be used in the right place?

He called four of the boys closer and asked a question, 'Do you play tennis?' The boys, who had never heard of tennis, were stunned. From that day, the lives of Surendra BK and Abhishek BK began to change. Now, both of them have left for Colombo, Sri Lanka on Saturday to participate in the Asia-Oceania U-16 pre-qualifying of the Junior Davis Cup wearing Nepal's jersey.

Surendra and Abhishek were two of the four children found in Ramghat. They studied in the same school. Both had a family background steeped in poverty. Surendra's parents, who had come to Pokhara from Darbang in Myagdi, were working as laborers in the Western Regional Hospital complex and were educating their son. Abhishek's situation was even more difficult. His mother had left him when he was young. His father was in a state of not taking responsibility. He had been living in a squatter settlement with his grandparents in Dobilla, Pokhara.

Kayastha called both of them to the Pokhara stadium the next day. Surendra and Abhishek took their first steps in the world of tennis as ball boys. The Gandaki Province Tennis Association arranged for all the rackets, balls, and uniforms. They would participate in free training in the morning. They would earn three to four hundred rupees a day by being ball boys. Tennis gradually became their daily routine.

But this journey was not easy. On New Year's Eve, Surendra reached Kayastha's house crying. His parents' work was over. They were preparing to return to the village. Kayastha met his parents the next day and talked about Surendra's talent. They requested him to stay in Pokhara. They offered to arrange for his accommodation, food, and studies, and even pay for the room rent.

It seemed like the family had agreed. But Surendra did not appear at the stadium until 8 am the next day. Kayastha called. Surendra's father said that the bus was waiting at the Baglung bus park. After a while, they drove towards Myagdi. 'I told him that I would arrange for him to stay, eat, and study, but he refused,' Kayastha said, 'He didn't even let me come from the village.'

A few days later, Surendra called Maiju from his mobile and said, 'I want to come, but I don't have the bus fare.' Kayastha said, 'Come, I will pay the fare here.' Surendra, who had walked on the morning of 7 Baisakh 080, reached Pokhara in the evening. He had an old bag, a single piece of clothing, and the phone number of 'Kayastha Sir' written in ink on his arm.

Now, both Surendra and Abhishek live in Kayastha's house. He is studying in class 8 at Maitreya Pathshala in Pokhara. Every morning, he sweats at the tennis complex in the stadium. These two 14-year-old boys are currently among the top four players in Nepal's U-16 category. The Nepal Tennis Association selected Surendra and Abhishek from eight outstanding players from across the country and sent them to Colombo.

13 countries, including Nepal, are participating in the Asia-Oceania U-16 Pre-Qualifying to be held in Colombo from 9 to 14 Chaitra. Bhutan, Brunei, Guam, Macau, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Pacific Oceania, Singapore and Sri Lanka are participating. Players selected from this pre-qualifying will play in the main qualifying round of the Davis Cup Junior. The Davis Cup is known as the World Cup of Tennis. The country's ranking also changes based on the performance of the players in the pre-qualifying round.

Surendra and Abhishek were bid farewell by the Gandaki Province Tennis Association on Friday. At the farewell ceremony, Pokhara Metropolitan Sports Development Committee Chairman Deepak Godar, Kaski District Tennis Association Chairman Rajkumar Gurung, Pokhara-15 Ward Chairman Toran Baniya, Tennis Association Advisor Gopi Bahadur Bhattarai, Gandaki Province Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry Acting Chairman Surya Bahadur Bhujel, Gandaki Province Tennis Association Vice President Lok Gurung and others wished them a victory, saying that it was a matter of pride to play wearing a jersey with the Nepali flag after a short period of training.

Along with Surendra and Abhishek, about 30 children are undergoing tennis training at the stadium. The Gandaki Province Tennis Association launched this grassroots tennis three years ago under the ‘Khelchha Gandaki’ program of the Provincial Sports Council. Children aged 6 to 14 from Pokhara’s squatter settlements and economically weak families are being selected and undergoing training. Under the guidance of chief coach Neeraj Thapa, assistant coaches Nirmal Magar and Nawaraj Sharma, they train for two hours on holidays and one and a half hours on other days. The association will bear the expenses of rackets, balls, uniforms, breakfast and transportation. Technical support has been provided by the Kaski District Tennis Association. The Provincial Tennis Association is training 11 players from poor families through the 'Grow Tennis' program, investing Rs 1 million per player. 'Pokhara is producing national and international players, umpires and coaches,' said Kayastha, 'Our aim is to produce the manpower required for this tennis complex here.'