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Of aces and volleys
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The promising form of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi bodes well for India in the Olympics, Davis Cupper S.P Misra tells A. JOSEPH ANTONY
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TENNIS AS an Olympic sport does not hold out much attraction for players, steeped in professionalism. The Grand Slam events, says Hyderabad's own Davis Cupper S.P. Misra, still call the shots when it comes to commanding player attendance.
Retracing the sport's association with the Games, he said it became a medal event in the Atlanta Olympics, after its introduction as a demonstration game in Seoul, eight years earlier. While participation by the top guns has improved over the years, he doesn't expect the elite at Athens, this time round. Nonetheless, with increasing acceptance the field will definitely be better than that witnessed at Sydney and should be more keenly fought than in the past.
The nearest the Davis Cupper got to the Olympics was being in England during the Rome Games of 1960. Training under British coach Tony Mortram there, foreign exchange regulations of the day restricted his movement from one nation to another. He had hoped the hockey and football squads of the country would make a mark in the Italian capital.
That however was not to be. Instead a frail Sikh blazed the athletic track, immortalised in documentaries for decades after. Flying Sikh Milkha Singh had the gold in his grasp, but one mistake proved costly, excluding him from the medal hunt. The Olympics to Misra seemed very distant. The games were often equated to athletics, football and hockey. Their being restricted only to amateurs made them less attractive, just as much as tennis' popularity shot up in the open era, heralded by the late Sixties and early Seventies. The professionals changed the complexion of the game forever.
Over the years, thanks to improved media coverage, the Olympics has become the mostly widely watched sports spectacle. "Now, one can follow the world's best action from the comfort of the drawing room, without having to pay through your nose for spectator tickets. Moreover, even after buying tickets, one can see only that sport that has been paid for, while missing out on the action at other venues," he notes.
The promising form of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the recent past bodes well for India. The duo stand a very good chance to clinch the doubles gold, considering that Bhupathi and Jonas Bjorkman clinched the Swedish Open crown, while Paes partnered David Rikl for the Swiss Open crown only recently.
Misra had last seen the Indian pair perform during the Davis Cup encounter against New Zealand at Kolkata last year. The understanding they enjoyed was exceptional and made them appear invincible.
With a little luck, the champion pair should come up trumps is his forecast and not without reason. "The temperature in Athens is expected to be in the region of 38 degrees Celsius and the surface, Decoturf II, both factors highly beneficial for our boys," he reckons.
Contrary to public perception, he feels the furore over film stars taking part in the Olympic run is not justifiable. "The sponsor needs mileage for the money he has ploughed in," he reasons.
Of his own brush with the Olympic run, Misra has an interesting tale to tell. After sweating it out from the Kavadiguda end of Kingsway, he reached Sharada Stores, only to find his reliever had done the disappearing act. That meant Misra had more footwork to do until the Patny Post Office. The hot oil kept spilling on his hand, but to this day he only cherishes the experience.
The recent losses of the Indian hockey are a cause for worry. "One billion strong and just a bronze to account for, is tragic," he reflects on the efforts of Paes and Karnam Malleswari. The much-wanted involvement of former sportsmen in the administration of sports has remained mostly on paper, the first citizen of Hyderabad tennis says in explanation of India's poor showing on the international stage.
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