Despite its rich history, Indian tennis does not have the literature to inspire the young generation and drive it forward.
It was thus no surprise when Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman and Enrico Piperno were overwhelmed by the bundle of history on Indian tennis that author Anindya Dutta has brought out in the form of the book Advantage India .
“Fantastic job, capturing history and staying away from the politics,” said Devvarman, during the live interaction, introducing the book.
“Great effort, very important step in educating everyone about Indian tennis,” said Bhupathi.
Fascinated by the many stories recalling the rich past, much before the entry of Ramanathan Krishnan, Piperno said that the book was a “fantastic read” and an eye-opener.
With the Singapore-based Dutta, known for his cricket books, recalling how he spent two years working on the book, helped by the British archives, it was a revelation for the best-known names of Indian tennis that India had figured in the Davis Cup semifinals in 1921!
Devvarman was impressed that India had world-class athletes more than a hundred years ago, competing regularly at Wimbledon.
Looking at some of the historic achievements during his playing career, Bhupathi said that Leander Paes winning the Olympic medal in Atlanta 1996 was one of the biggest stories of world sport.
Piperno, coach of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams for many years, recalled how Paes had played incredible tennis for three days to help India beat France in Frejus in 1993 in Davis Cup.
Television expert Digvijay Singh Deo anchored the discussion, getting the best out of everyone.
