Seven-year-old rises in Thai tennis

MANILA, Philippines - Seven-year-old Miko Eala became the first Filipino to win an international juniors tennis championship in the eight-and-under category as he ruled the Krasae Tennis Camp Junior Challenge 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand recently.

Eala, an incoming Grade 2 pupil at Xavier School in San Juan, bested 15 other Thai junior national players, including top seed Nattapol Wara Sin, 4-0, 4-1, in the two-set championship match.

It was indeed a stirring triumph by the Filipino kid, who shone among the more than 300 boys and girls aged, 7-18, who competed in their respective categories in one of Thailand’s most prestigious national age-group tennis tournaments.

Thailand is a regional tennis powerhouse but Eala showed the stuff he’s made of to topple the host’s most fancied player in his age category.

Eala, who started learning basic tennis at age four and finished first honor in his class in the previous school year, trains at the Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig, his athletic skills honed up by his grandfather-coach, Bobby Maniego.