–Mahesh Bhupathi
India lost to Sweden for the sixth time in as many outings in the Davis Cup last weekend, and there was a social media frenzy after the tie was over. It started with the media accusing the captain of choosing the wrong singles player, and then the players – both past and present – took to social media. The All India Tennis Association (AITA) retaliated with false accusations. There will once again be no resolution or improvements. For a change, I sat on the sidelines, throwing out jabs on Instagram, and enjoyed the fact that I wasn’t being blamed for the escalation.
The media have been relentlessly calling me for comments, and I point-blank refused. But, alas, as I sat bored at the airport, I answered one call and this journalist asked me: “Is it true that tennis players get paid to play Davis cup?” Wow! Rest assured, he probably realised very quickly during the call that he shouldn’t have asked me that question. Finally, after a 30-minute rant about what I thought of the both the establishment and the way the media pick their questions, I asked whether he thought this was a recent phenomenon.
Should we have beaten Sweden? With a full-strength team, I would say it was a 50-50 match. As the Indian team has proven time and time again, nothing can ever be taken for granted in the Davis Cup. The real problem is much deeper in the Indian tennis ecosystem – one that I have been extremely vocal about for over three decades.
It’s very easy for people to point fingers, but trying to actually do something about it is where change can come in. If you were to take the example of the top three or four sports in the country – namely cricket, hockey, badminton and shooting – every single one of them has past players of high quality making decisions and giving direction. Hence, there are results being shown year on year.
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Just to be clear, these players have not fought elections and won. They have been invited, thanks to their experience and expertise, to help make a difference in the sport. I still remember sitting with the then AITA president, or maybe secretary, when I decided to retire from India duty, and telling him to use me for player development. I had a lot of time on my hands. Instead, when I got Apollo Tyres to fund a 10-year program with 25 kids (which Sumit Nagal is a product of), it was shut down in a couple years.
While I scrambled to find out why , I was told by someone in their organisation that the AITA had felt threatened since the program started, and had told the principals that Mahesh used the money from it to buy a house in London. Oh, well!
Today, what I can say is that I did try everything I could with the means I had to help the sport grow, with zero support from the establishment. They fought me every step of the way, to the point that I gave up, realising that I had no chance. After waving the white flag, I have watched silently from the sidelines over the last few years. Now, they have systematically dragged Indian tennis to depths which, if not for Sumit, are easily comparable to any other country on the bottom rung in Asia.
Earlier, the secretary of the Federation insinuated that Sumit faked his back injury to skip the Davis Cup, and made “illogical” financial demands to play. The journalist who called me had to listen to my tirade since he went straight to the financials. Just to state facts, I have seen the letter. Sumit asked for five things, all of which were for the betterment for the team. The money he asked for was not anything above the prize money the AITA would be making from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
These so-called demands have come after years and years of lack of trust, and zero transparency from the establishment. They have never kept their word, they leak confidential e-mails from players, and they probably have drinks in the evenings trying to figure out how to keep the players divided. That way, they keep their power, and get their free trips to the Grand Slams and Davis Cup.
If there was true love for the sport and an iota of shame, the entire executive board of the AITA would have resigned long ago. There may be one or two good apples there, but if they do not raise their voices, they are complicit. They have failed at their jobs. They have failed the sport and the country, and sadly, no one gets to hold them accountable because they have the votes.
Nowadays, I am five times removed from Indian tennis, but I believe there are elections coming up. I sincerely hope Rohit Rajpal wins and gets to be President, not because he is a friend, but because he has played tennis at a high level. He gets both the administrative side and the political side of it and, most importantly, has an open mind. In my opinion, Rohit is the perfect candidate. This journalist should also request to see Rohit’s response to Sumit’s mail, which Mr Anil Dhupar has conveniently left out of his allegations.
The AITA need to use Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza extensively. Both have amazing academies with tons of courts, which can be used to develop players. Somdev Devvarman is the only choice in our country to lead a high-performance program. See what China did in 15 years with a vision. They have two men and five women in the top 100, and an Olympic gold medallist. If the Chinese can do it, I can promise you we have more talent. We need to put in place a structure and resources to harness that talent.
I really wish someone mature at the AITA would call all the players to a town hall, and at least try to address all their concerns. I tried hard and failed, and the nail in the coffin was being fired as Davis Cup captain, for not wanting to travel to Pakistan with the team because of security concerns. Luckily, my daughter has caught the tennis bug, and I will focus on trying to help her get to a level where she does not have to deal with this drama. An Indian tennis federation without drama? Yes, a pipe dream!
Finally, I wished Imran Uncle ( Sania’s dad) on his birthday and he responded by saying, “We need to meet, Mahesh, or Indian tennis will die.” I will meet him soon, and we will talk again about how cheap and childish the federation is to accuse the players, leak e-mails and so on. But with what tennis knowledge I have, I am still convinced that just by making a few minor changes, we can bounce back in a few years. All we need is someone at the top who is willing make those changes, stand by them, and be held accountable. Let’s pray that Indian tennis gets the right champion after this election, and I am not laughed at for thinking there is always hope. Jai Hind!
Also Read: Sumit Nagal gives a fitting reply to insensitive AITA in an emotional social media post