Napaporn needs a win to help her disabled father
NAPAPORN TONGSALEE has an unfulfilled dream.
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[TENNIS] Thai doubles specialist Napaporn Tongsalee has one last goal in her career - to win one more singles challenger title and spend the prize money on a prosthetic leg for her father.
The 26-year-old, who won a challenger doubles title with Taiwan's Chuang Chia-jung in Ho Chi Minh on Sunday, is no longer concerned about her ranking. Her main priority is to buy the artificial leg for her father before she hangs up her racquet. "I wish I could win one more challenger title before I decide to hang up my racquet. I want to give a prosthetic leg to my dad, which has always been my dream," said Napaporn, who last year won only one challenger title in Kentucky worth US$50,000. In fact, she had intended to buy the artificial leg last year but her father, who lost his leg in a car accident two years ago, was not ready for the prosthetic limb because he needed an operation. So she bought him crutches instead. Although Napaporn has had fine results as a doubles player, she has yet to win a match in the main draw of a challenger tournament this year, having crashed out in seven straight first rounds. She said she felt sorry for her sponsor, who invested money only to see her down in the dumps. "If I drop below the top 500, I might stop playing this year if things don't go the way I want. I'm getting older and I feel bad for my sponsor who has lost money on me," said the country's No 3 women's player, who will turn 27 in October. But she admitted she had no clear plan for her post-tennis life. Any decent job that she can earn enough to look after her parents will do, she said. "I want to take care of my mum and dad and playing tennis is the only thing I can do to make a living. If I quit, I have no idea what to do, but it could be something about tennis," she said. On Sunday, Napaporn and Chuang beat Trudi Musgrave of Australia and Liga Dekmeijere of Latvia 4-6 6-1 6-0 to win the Toyota Women's Open at the Lan Anh Country Club in Vietnam. It was her second challenger doubles trophy since winning in Phuket last year. Napaporn left for Beijing last night for a $50,000 tournament where she will join compatriots Tamarine Tanasugarn and Suchanan Viratprasert. Lerpong Amsa-ngiam The Nation
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