A student plays a backhand shot at the Third Inter-IIT Sports Meet, 1964

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Sports , Student Activities

The meet was held at IIT Madras for the first time. According to the Annual Number of IIT Madras, 1964-65, the IIT Madras tennis team went down to Kharagpur despite Lionel Paul’s victory in two singles. It is not clear to us who the student in the photograph is.

Tennis rackets had wooden frames in the 1960s. The size of the head was smaller compared to the current rackets. Current rackets are made from graphite or graphite composites which include materials such as titanium, kevlar or fibreglass. The student in the photograph is playing a one-handed backhand shot. In the current era, players rely more on the double-handed back hand shot, since the one-hand back hand shot requires a lot more balance and strength to counter the high bouncing topspin that have gained a footing in modern tennis over the past few decades.

An identical photograph can be found in the Gourishankar Collection in Album 0317 under the ID: 001/0317/IMG_0541

Album 0001

Collection:

Central Photographic Section Collection

Album Name:

Third Inter IIT Sports Meet

Photograph ID:

001/0001/IMG_0085_1

Album ID:

0001

Date:

28-31 December 1964

Event:

Third Inter IIT Sports Meet

Photographer:

C. Gourishankar (1936-2002). A geologist by qualification, Gourishankar started his career as a photographer after working for many years with the Geological Survey of India. In everything that he did, Gourishankar strove to achieve flawlessness and impeccable quality. Thus his photography too was characterised by this drive for perfection. Every photograph that Gourishankar took was meticulously planned and shot and printed with diligence and patience. Gourishankar carried out most of the official photography at IIT Madras in the 1960s.

Place:

Tennis Court