Gutta gears up
Amit Khanna

In readiness mode for the CWG, shuttler Jwala Gutta talks of the Asian challengers, Azhar and all that

Though the off-field developments in the last month or so have been keeping her in the news more than even her quarter-final finish at the World Championship during the same time, the better half of the World Number 13 Indian mixed doubles pair, Jwala Gutta, vehemently rubbishes her link-up with former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharudin as a deliberately created controversy and asserts that winning remains her focus as she gears up with long-time partner V. Diju for the forthcoming CWG. In characteristic uninhibited talk, she shares her thoughts on her preparation, India’s rise in world badminton, the recent controversy and who she believes is out to create off-field trouble for her.

Fitness is paramount today. I am a firm believer of the fact that your form at any given time is directly proportional to how physically fit you are. We (Diju and me) have been training hard for quite some time now and it is showing results. We have been doing well together consistently. The quarter-final finish at the World Championship last month was a bit of disappointment as we were on course to win that match for the greater part of the contest. This time, too, I am confident of putting up a good show.

It is all rubbish and there is not an iota of truth in this. I was astounded when I first heard that me and Azhar were supposedly going around. We are family friends and even my parents know him very well. This has been a deliberate attempt on some vested interests to first unnecessarily create and then foment the issue. Azhar is the most fit, well-dressed and stylish Indian sportsman ever. I know who is doing this to tarnish my name. Their attempts have backfired and I hope something better keeps them busy in future so that we sportspersons can spend our energies on the field playing and not defending ourselves off it.

I wish we claim all 18 gold medals on offer. The competition is going to be stiff but we certainly have serious medal hopes this time around. I am sure we will win at least half of them. The world now recognises us as a potent badminton outfit.

He is training hard for the matches and the busy season ahead. He had some back problem but that was way back and all is well now. We are ready to give any opponent the run for their money. Our collective focus is to win the gold medal for the country.

Oh, it won’t be easy as it is a prestigious tournament and everybody is expected to come up with the best performances. Malaysia and England, in particular, have very strong players and even Singapore, to some extent. Nobody leaves the court without fighting and no match will be easy.

Badminton is ruled by Asian giants — China, India and Indonesia. Though the Chinese are not a part of the Games, but that won’t result in any let-off as far as the intensity on the court is concerned. The level of the matches will surely be high-voltage and nobody should take the outcome as guaranteed.

Nothing in particular. The Commonwealth Games is just another tournament and I intend to give my best in every match. The fact that the Games are being held in India makes it special for us. I am preparing hard for it just like any other tournament

It certainly does and that, too, to a considerable extent. The pressure of playing and performing in front of your home crowd is bound to play on your mind. But that is the challenge that eggs you on, too. The feeling of winning in front of your supporters is motivating and satisfying, to say the least.

My money is on tennis. I think we are serious contenders for a podium finish with players like Leander, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev and Sania. I am taking part in two badminton events and would be hard pressed for time, but I sincerely pray I get time to watch live tennis. Track and field events, too, excite me.

The Government of India should get a pat on the back. Overall, there has been a collective effort in ensuring that the players get sufficient world exposure. We are now playing around 15-18 world-level tournaments annually from around four to five not so long ago. The results have been obvious. Hope we build on the good work already done.

MATCH LESS
K. Datta

The present pack of players has done Indian tennis proud, but there are not many faces for its future

While performers in their 30s, like Rohan Bopanna, can be depended upon for a few more years, there are not too many younger players yet to carry forward their good work. Photo: PTI

The Davis Cup is different. It is both about individuals and nations, but more about nations. There is a certain romance about it, which sets it apart from any other tennis event. You had to see the way Rohan Bopanna was unabashedly smothered by his Tricolour-carrying colleagues after he had anchored India to a 3-2 victory over Brazil, defeating Ricardo Melo in the last match of the rubber at Chennai on Sunday last. For those of us not physically present at the Tamil Nadu tennis stadium, the ecstasy of the moment came through from the TV screen. The Davis Cup is seen as an index of the health of tennis in a nation. Now that India has retained its elitist status as a member of the Davis Cup World Group of 16 nations, Indian tennis has received a clean bill of health. But for how long? Only time holds an answer to the worrying question.

As singles players, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathy have their best years behind them. But after decades of Davis Cup playing for India, they are still a formidable force when they join forces to play the doubles, as they proved, yet again, at Chennai, where they pulled off a victory after India had lost both opening days’ singles matches. It was their 24th Davis Cup doubles victory, and it was good seeing the pumped-up oldies bumping chests the way they were known to do — a happy reconciliation, which, one hopes, will endure till India finds adequate replacements.

For players on the wrong side of the 30s, even doubles play can be strenuous, so the replacements better come fast. Even Bopanna, who is 30, is getting no younger. Full marks to him for the way he played. He surprised all those who had doubted his sharpness as a singles player, for, of late, he had become something of a full-time doubles player on the international circuit, and has even done creditably in that role. His recent exploits in the US Open, with Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Quraishi as partner, have come like a whiff of fresh air to sports lovers in both countries.

Who can blame Bopanna for his transition into a doubles player? His share of the runners-up prize money in the US Open was $105,000, not something to be sneezed at unless one has generous sponsors to take care of all the expenses on international tours.

But Bopanna was brimming with confidence that he was more than a part-time singles player, and his critics must be happy to being wrong. He can be depended upon for a few more years of service. That leaves only Somdev Devvarman, who is in his early 20s, as a long-term prospect.

The differences in the standards of our tested front-line Davis Cup regulars and the reserves is too well known. There is Yuki Bhambri, 18, who has the Australian Open junior title under his belt. Out of action for the last few months because of injury, he looks promising. But he lacks the kind of a big game that Bopanna displayed at Chennai. May be, he’ll develop it when he fills out. He has time on his side. Then there are Vishnu Vardhan of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu’s V. M. Ranjith, both older than Bhambri, but still untested in the higher levels of the international game.

The cupboard may look bare. But that is nothing new. The outlook was much the same in the days of Ramanathan Krishnan and his fellow musketeers, Jaideep Mukerjea and the late Premjit Lall. But then came the Amritraj brothers and Krishnan’s son Ramesh. After them came Leander Paes, who became the soul and substance of the Davis Cup team and much else.

Coach Nick Bollettieri was in Delhi not long ago to take a look at our talent. Bhambri has done a stint at the Bollettieri academy in the US. Whether he found anyone else with the same promise is not known. But even if he has, it takes time to develop talent. There are no short cuts.

Krishnan's Kolkata Memory

Undoubtedly, it was remarkable, and all credit to Bopanna for the way he beat Ricardo Melo in the decider,” said Ramanathan Krishnan of India’s 3-2 Davis Cup victory over Brazil, as the modest tennis great was reminded of the epic win he himself steered the country to in the inter-zonal final at Kolkata in 1966 —long before anyone in the present team was born.

That win, by a similar margin, was also over Brazil. Krishnan defeated Thomaz Koch, one of the most formidable players then, in a match that took the tie into a fourth day. Bad light had halted the match on that Sunday in December. “One must remember, December days are short in Calcutta,” said Krishnan. Floodlighting was unknown in those times. The victory margins may have been the same, but this was the first time that an Indian Davis Cup team had won after being 0-2 down on the first day. So, this was special.”

About the future faces of Indian tennis, he didn’t see any players right now who are strong enough to replace the present crop. “Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathy are in their late 30s; how much longer can they continue?” he wondered. Bopanna, at 30, has matured late, he observed.

“Yes, Yuki Bhambri is a player to watch. But one Bhambri is not enough. Bhambri and a couple of others have yet to prove themselves on court,” said Krishnan, hoping that they would do so soon. — KD