Catching up with Yuki

In the city to launch a new line of sports shoes, tennis pro Yuki Bhambri gets talking about films, his favourite cricketer, food and future plans

March 05, 2014 05:35 pm | Updated May 22, 2014 04:50 pm IST - chennai:

Yuki Bhambri. Photo: R. Ragu

Yuki Bhambri. Photo: R. Ragu

Yuki Bhambri is a self-confessed film buff and watches movies when he isn’t playing. So which was the last movie he watched? We expect him to rattle off a list of Oscar-nominated movies, but a long silence and a nervous laugh later he says, “Been a while. With all the travelling, I haven't had the opportunity. But I’ve been keen on watching The Great Gatsby for sometime.”

Disappointing yes, but fortunately on court he has had a good run. Perhaps that’s why he looks more confident now than he did when we last met a couple of years back. “I won the Chennai Challenger tournament three weeks back and, in January, made it to the quarter final of the Chennai Open. Chennai has been kind to me,” he says at the launch of Adidas Originals’ new line titled Stan Smith in the city. It’s a brand he's been associated with for the last eight years and is sponsored by. “I use their shoes, socks and gear. It's not just comfortable but also something that can be worn off court as well,” he adds. Apparently the 21-year-old has quite a collection of sneakers but is yet to experiment with gold, orange and brighter shades. “I am only just a bit clued into fashion and trends,” he smiles.

Next, he's gearing up for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Miami and hopes that the good run continues. Yuki has been sweating it out for five hours everyday. “I also run as part of my training and maybe that's why I don't put on weight with all the Mughlai food, naan and butter chicken I eat.”

Apart from tennis, he enjoys trying his hand at other sports, like playing cricket on Sundays. “As a child, I had a poster of Sachin Tendulkar in my room,” says Yuki. But what about posters of tennis players? He’s quite a fan of Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. “I probably didn't have pictures of them because as a tennis player I saw them around...as for Sachin, I really hope to meet him someday.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.