Harper Sercombe
Roxburgh Park’s Saalim Naser was recognised at the Victorian Sports Awards last week.
The awards honour the athletes, coaches, administrators and volunteers who have made an exceptional contribution to sport in the state and promoted sport and active participation.
Naser, a wheelchair tennis star took out the AFL SportsReady Young Team of the Year award alongside his doubles partner Riley Dumsday.
This award recognises a Victorian junior team who achieved outstanding results in their performances at a national or international level during the 2022 year.
“It’s very exciting for me and the team to win the award because we worked so hard the months before the world team cup,” Naser said.
“It was a great experience because it was my first time winning the cup and even more great because we won wearing the green and gold.”
Naser and Dumsday paired up to help Australia win the Junior World Team Cup, the wheelchair tennis equivalent of the Davis Cup.
“It was pretty special winning the award with Riley, we both played some great tennis during the World Team Cup so yeah, I’m glad we were able to win it,” he said.
The duo won their final 6-1, 6-4 in only the second time Australia have secured the Junior World Team Cup.
Being only 19, Naser has eyes on the future.
“My main goals right now are to hopefully reach top 50 in the rankings by the end of this year and to hopefully play the Australian Open in the coming years,” he said.
