Mahesh being felicitated by the Odisha Tennis Association for his national-level achievement in Bhubaneswar and (below) Mahesh at a practice session. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, May 22: What Odia tennis players could only dream of achieving in their career, 12-year-old Mahesh Mohapatra has already done.

The tennis prodigy claimed the top spot in the national rankings recently in his segment of Under-12 tennis.

He is the first Odia to become rank one in the country in any category of tennis.

A Class VII student at the DAV, Chandrasekharpur, Mahesh has been taking tennis lessons at the Ace Base Tennis Academy on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar under the guidance of well-known coach, Ajay Nishank, since 2007. When he took up the racquet, Mahesh was only five.

“He is extremely dedicated and believes in pushing his limits till he improves himself. He is a champion material for sure,” said coach Ajay.

An ardent Roger Federer fan, the promising tennis star from the state recently bagged a number of titles at championships across India.

Mahesh’s winning run began since March this year, before which he had some singles and doubles titles in earlier tournaments.

In March, he won the boys’ singles title in the All-India Tennis Association (AITA) – Odisha Tennis Association (OTA) Talent Series U-12 tournament at Kalinga stadium here.

He carried forward the form to win the singles in Chandigarh at the AITA Super Series U-12 category in April. Within a week’s time, his victory in doubles and journey till semi-finals in singles at the AITA National Series U-12 tournament in Bangalore made him No.2 in the country.

But the ultimate claim to fame came after he won both the singles and doubles titles at the AITA Super Series at the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy in Hyderabad on April 25. With 410 points, he was soon declared the rank one in India in U-12 category.

“I love to keep playing in tournaments one after another since I enjoy the game. I love Federer’s one-handed top spin backhand and he is my ultimate inspiration,” said Mahesh before leaving for Mumbai where he would feature in yet another series from Saturday.

Though constant touring of the country for championships keeps him busy, his parents Sarbeswar and Nirmala Mohapatra believe in giving him freedom and not pressurising him regarding studies. “Everyday, he sincerely practices from 5am to 9.30am before school and during vacations till even 11am. But if he studies for an hour or so, he gets good enough scores at school. So, we feel he should be given freedom to enjoy what he loves most,” said the proud mother Nirmala.

“We are extremely delighted to see him as rank one in India,” she said.

Mahesh is also venturing into U-16 category games now. He was felicitated by the OTA earlier this week for achieving the rare feat.