Darjeeling is serving one ace after another in racquet sports at the moment, age no bar.

While Jit Pradhan, 55, represented India at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Masters Team Championship which was held at Mexico City from April 28 to May 3, nine-year old Evana Arora is creating waves on the national and international stage in tennis.

Arhant Daksh Chettri, 15, also from Darjeeling is another budding star who along with Ashrujeet Bhowmik of Siliguri won gold in the West Bengal State Ranking Badminton Tournament (Under-17) in Jalpaiguri on May 4.

Points collected in ranking tournaments in both tennis and badminton determine the ranking of the player.

"I have been playing tennis for the past 20 years but I played my first ranking tournament in 2019 in Bangkok,” said Jit.

Since Jit is currently among the top five players in his age category (55 years plus) he was selected to represent the country.

India had three men's teams in the age category of 50, 55 and 60 plus and a women's team in the age category of 55 plus.

"The Indian men's team in the age category of 50 won silver. So, the feeling is good,” Jit told The Telegraph from Mexico.

Despite being only nine years old, Evana on Sunday competed in the Under-14 and Under-16 category and lifted both the trophies. The inter-school tournament was organised by the Darjeeling Gymkhana Club.

Evana started playing tennis when she was five-and-a-half years old and is now taking part in ranking tournaments both in the domestic and international circuit.

"In February this year, she played the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) tournament in Dubai in Under-10 and Under-11 categories. She came fifth in the under-10 and eight in the Under-11 categories. There were more than 185 participants from across the world,” said Sandeep Arora, the proud father of Evana.

In the domestic circuit, Evana, a student of GD Goenka School in Siliguri, is competing in the Under-12 and Under-14 categories as there is no under-10 category here.

In the Under-12 category, she is ranked 138 in the country while she is ranked 639 in the Under-14 category. “The school is supporting her tremendously as she needs to travel 10-12 days a month to play tournaments,” said her father.

Apart from a scholarship, the school also provides remedial classes to Evana to catch up on her studies.

Arhant Daksh Chettri, 15, a student of Gyanoday Niketan in Darjeeling who won the Under-17 ranking tournament in Jalpaiguri recently will again be travelling to Goa to participate in another ranking tournament from May 10 to May 17. He will then be participating in another ranking tournament in Calcutta in June.

Arhant’s parent even had to shift schools to ensure that their son could travel and participate in tournaments across the country.

"Arhant started playing badminton since he was three. He was initially trained by Tabin Darnal. He is currently ranked 8th in the Under-17 boys singles category,” said Sitesh Chettri, father of Arhant.

Arhant and Evana want to make a career in sports and have enrolled themselves in sports academies.

While Arhant trains at Woodridge International Badminton Academy, Evana trains at Match Point Tennis Academy, both in Siliguri.