Calcutta, Feb. 9 : To catch them young is a job just begun. What lies ahead is the task of grooming and guiding the players for the tougher tests in the increasingly demanding international tennis circuit. In a country not famous for doing that, a process is on to prepare a few youngsters for the international tennis arena. At the centre of attention are local boy Vinod Sewa and Chandigarh's Sunil Kumar and Amanjyot Singh. Kumar and Singh are under a project jointly undertaken by Paes En Sport and the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association while Sewa is being looked after solely by the city-based company. 'We've decided to keep Kumar away from the senior circuit for the whole year as this is his last year as a junior,' said Dr Vece Paes, managing director of Paes En Sport. It may appear unusual, as Kumar shot into the limelight by winning the senior national hardcourt title in 1999, when he was just 16. He was a non-playing member of the Indian Davis Cup squad for the tie against Lebanon in Lucknow last year, apart from getting a wild card at last year's Gold Flake Open in Chennai. 'People may have expected him to be a regular at the senior circuit but we think he should spend some more time among juniors to learn certain things indispensable on the bigger stage,' Dr Paes explained. Kumar has been a regular on the ITF junior circuit since last March and won three titles in Sri Lanka, Delhi and Bangladesh. 'Playing well in these events will improve his world ranking and we aim to help him break into juniors' top 20. You'll find that most top juniors make it big when they become seniors,' Dr Paes said. 'Winning the senior national title brought Kumar to the fore but also raised expectations. We felt he would burn out soon if he became a regular there,' he said. Dr Paes cited the example of Vijay Kannan, a promising junior who could not live up to the demands of seniors' tennis. 'Staying at the junior circuit will help Kumar develop a strong base, technically and physically. He will also get to play more matches which would improve his ranking,' felt Dr Paes. Currently, Kumar is ranked in the seventies but he has to be ranked below 50 to get direct entries at junior Grand Slam events. 'I lost some points recently but will play a lot of tournaments now which should help me recover,' said Kumar. He got a direct entry to this year's junior Australian Open where he lost in the first round. Staying at the junior level will also help Kumar to get recognition and sponsors if he does well at the junior Grand Slams. Dr Paes is hopeful that Kumar will get a direct entry to the French Open and Wimbledon along with Singh and Sewa. Sewa is now ranked in the eighties and Singh is currently over 100 but both have chances to improve since they will play a lot more events now. Sewa has so far won two ITF junior titles in Canada and Brunei, while Singh has the Chandigarh and Colombo crowns under his belt. The players are sent to meets where their chances of collecting points are higher. 'Playing wherever you can doesn't make sense and you have to keep in mind things like the surface that suits you and the kind of opposition since collecting points is the most crucial thing,' opined Naresh Kumar, who welcomes the move to keep Kumar at the junior level.