It was a remarkable achievement by the young 10-member Indian tennis team which won five medals — two gold, one silver and two bronze — in the Asian Games here.
What made the performance all the more remarkable was the fact that the team was without the services of Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna who have all been busy in the big league. Coach Nandan Bal had no hesitation in reiterating that this was the nucleus for the future of Indian tennis.
Success was not achieved overnight and the seasoned coach credited the All India Tennis Association (AITA) for its strong tournament structure and coaches' programme.
Pat for AITA
“This has been a stupendous performance and the AITA deserves to be congratulated. Earlier the players came up because of the family system, but there is a system now for developing good players. We can only look ahead and get better from here,'' he said.
AITA Secretary-General Anil Khanna, who was proud to present the gold medals for the men's singles and doubles winners, said the Association would strengthen the tournament structure from April next year with about six to eight Challengers apart from the Futures events.
Great year
“It has been a great year for Indian tennis not only in the Asian Games and Davis Cup, but at every level. It has been a very commendable achievement by the young team.”
Classic case
Devvarman and Sanam may be products of the American system, imparted to them at the University of Virginia, though their foundation was laid in India, but Vishnu Vardhan is a classic beneficiary of the support the government had extended as part of the preparation for the Commonwealth Games.
He could not make the team for the Commonwealth Games back home, but in the company of Sania, he matured with every outing to come agonisingly close to a gold medal in mixed doubles in a strong field here.
