Fresh, or not so fresh, as the case certainly was, from helping out with Aaron and Rob’s 12-hour tennis match this time last year, and the 48-hour cricket net in February, I’ll be taking my place again as Aaron Kumar and Robert Hanson go head to head on 29th November to raise money for Ditch The Label.
Ditch the Label are a charity that do some fantastic work in helping and supporting victims of bullying as well as delivering a message of equality.
This will be the third year running that Aaron has put himself through the rigours of a 12-hour singles contest, but while he was a favourite in both of his previous matches, this encounter promises to be a very different contest.
Aaron had not lost a set against his two previous opponents prior to his last two 12-hour matches and he went on to win both matches 14 sets to four and 21 sets to one respectively.
However in Robert Hanson, Aaron faces an opponent that has beaten him on numerous occasions; Rob is also an extremely good athlete who has recently completed a marathon.
Aaron himself sees himself as the slight underdog going into this match but the 30-year-old has not lost focus on the main objective of the event.
“Rob is a very good player, he has beaten me many times and I will have my work cut out to beat him, but I will give it my best shot, but most importantly both of us hope to raise as much money as possible for what we believe to be a great cause,” he said.
“Bullying anywhere is unacceptable, we are proud to support Ditch the Label and the great work that they do,” he added.
Although Rob who will be making his 12-hour tennis debut, he will start the match as a slight favourite given his record against Aaron and the fact that he is such a good athlete; Aaron cannot be ruled out given that he has a few wins against Rob himself and he did win the pair’s most recent encounter.
So who will win on the day? Rob is the favourite but matches are not played on paper and it promises to be a very exciting occasion.
The duo will be hoping that the winner that everyone is talking about after 29th November is Ditch the Label and the victims of bullying that they support.
Keep an eye on the YouTube channel where we will be live streaming the event so even if you can’t join us at the Virgin Active Clearview in Essex, you can keep an eye on their progress.
And please, please, donate to the cause here: https://www.justgiving.com/Aaron-Kumar/