LONE WARRIOR
No coach, no idol. Just the will to win. Ask Ritwik Bhattacharya. "Every Indian claims he wants to do well in sports. I want to prove we can do it."

Ranked No. 1 in India, he has no peers. The youngest ever national champion's goal now is to better his international ranking of 144. "I'm giving myself two years to crack the top 50," says Bhattacharya, an undergraduate at Delhi's St Stephen's College. "Otherwise I'll cut my losses." Ruthless, in black and white.

A two-month stint in April with Neil Harvey -- world No. 1 Peter Nicol's coach -- at Chingford, North East of London, sharpened Bhattacharya's court play. It was visible at the Colombian and Peruvian Opens where he beat players who were previous winners. For Bhattacharya to do consistently well, he needs more international exposure. That costs a packet -- about Rs 15 lakh a year. Right now, JCT chips in with a major portion of that. The rest he manages from his winnings. Says Sandipan Banerjee, former Services player who is assisting Bhattacharya with his training: "There's the desire to excel." And half the battle is won.