Indian tennis needs a Neeraj Chopra miracle
Sumit Nagal was good against Alexander Bublik but when will Indian tennis' wait to produce 'the best' end?
Sumit Nagal rightly made the news when he beat 31st seed Kazakh Alexander Bublik in straight sets earlier this week at the Australian Open to earn 95,000 pounds. It doesn't happen often nowadays that an Indian player makes it past the first round of a grand slam -- in singles.
Which is a sad thing for a country that has some kind of success to boast in the sport. Ghaus Mohammed Khan was the first Indian to reach a grand slam quarterfinal (at Wimbledon 1939). Ramanathan Krishnan reached back-to-back Wimbledon semi-finals in 1960 and 1961. In 1962, he also reached the quarterfinals of the French Open.
11 years passed before an Indian reached the quarterfinals of a grand slam again. It was Vijay Amritraj who reached the Wimbledon last-8 in 1973. The same year and the next year he reached the quarter-finals of the US Open. In 1981, he made it to another quarterfinals of Wimbledon.
The same year Ramesh Krishnan, son of Ramanathan, reached the quarterfinals of the US Open. He did it for the second time in 1987. He also reached the Wimbledon last-8 in 1986.
Ramanathan, Vijay and Ramesh beat some of the top players of their time. From 1966-87, the Indians also ended runners-up thrice in the reputed Davis Cup.
Leander Paes then defied the odds on his way to winning a bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. The only medal India won in that event. In fact, that's the only medal for India in tennis to date in the time-honoured event.
The pattern is clear. India has produced big tennis talents now and then and so has been the nature of their success in the sport - now and then. The question that should bother all of us is: why so? Compared to football where India is far, far behind the top nations, in tennis they have had significant successes - even though sporadic - over the years. So the question that should haunt all of us is: why haven't we won a singles grand slam in so many years of playing tennis at the highest level?
If you ask the authorities (the All India Tennis Association or AITA), they will likely tell you there is public apathy in India towards the sport which is not entirely wrong but then the tennis governing body should also take the blame for not doing its job to a tee. One can’t be sure if they ever tried to take tennis to an average Indian household; if they did enough to ensure tennis courts were sufficient in number where the enthusiasts could practice and hone their skills.
They didn't make singles their priority either for whatever reasons. It appears that way. For a very long time, Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza ruled the roost in doubles and mixed doubles but tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world not because of doubles or mixed doubles. It's the singles title that matters, that is talked about for many years. Why was the bar set so low, nobody knows.
To their credit, the trio of Mirza, Paes and Bhupathi won many grand slams in doubles and mixed doubles but it's also true that during their time Indian tennis saw massive deterioration. The infighting among them caused a lot of damage to the game in the country. Why the tennis body let it happen under their nose, nobody knows.
It's a matter of great shame that it's been more than 36 years since India reached the singles quarterfinals of a grand slam. Nagal's second-round exit on Thursday didn't surprise many. It's a story that has been on repeat mode for so many years now in Indian tennis.
And frankly speaking, we don't have a hope in hell. The AITA appears at its wits' end. The problem is beyond their control. Now we need a Neeraj Chopra in tennis, a player who doesn't need the system to a great extent to be successful, to catch the imagination of people. When one begins to wish like that, you know things are totally in the doldrums.