There is one week to go for elections to the All India Tennis Association executive board. If you go through the list of past presidents, there has been some political link or the other, whatever be the party. What has not changed despite all this over four decades is the relationship between the national sports federation and players. And the latest of the lot is how they have handled outgoing coach Zeeshan Ali.
For those who have followed Indian tennis, there has been a strong link with the South Club in Kolkata. From Late Premjit Lall to legend Jaidip Mukherjea, Naresh Kumar to Akhtar Ali and son Zeeshan, they have all contributed to India tennis massively. Zeeshan was part of the Davis Cup for a long time. And as someone who was committed to playing the prestigious Nationals in the old days, he was supreme. In father Akhtar Ali, Zeeshan had a coach who was cerebral. The senior Ali was sharp and could even walk up to Vijay Amritraj and tell him a few things which needed to be corrected in his technique. That was his tactical acumen.
As for Zeeshan, once his playing days were over in the Davis Cup – 1987 to 1994, he slipped into a coaching role, first abroad and then at home. Indian tennis has been lucky, it had good coaches from Enrico Piperno to Nandan Bal. Once Zeeshan slipped into the coaching role, he was the quiet type. He preferred to focus only on his work. That was till February 2024, when he had to lead the Indians Davis Cup team in Pakistan as coach plus non-playing captain. To defeat Pakistan in Pakistan without a full team and even handle the hostile press there, it was not an easy job. Sadly, when he returned to India, Zeeshan did not even get a pat on his back from the AITA. RevSportz had interviewed him at that time in February and he spoke of the challenges in performing two roles.
Sadly, over a month back, Zeeshan quit as coach and it has gone unnoticed. Anyone who knows the soft-spoken Zeeshan will vouch, he likes to stay away from controversies. He prefers the tennis courts and the solitude of being a coach. At a time when the All India Tennis Association has shown Sumit Nagal in poor light and made him sound like a mercenary, a few things need to be put out in public domain to set the record straight. Nagal is an outspoken player and that’s his nature. But he is not the sort who has refused national duty just because of money. If he asked for what was due, nothing wrong, as the International Tennis Federation does pay a decent sum to the AITA.
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After plenty of controversies, the AITA did work out a prize money formula for players and how they travel a few years ago. Thanks to a revolt led by Somdev Devvarman and parleys with the AITA , the players now travel business class. No, not the coach. Zeeshan used to travel economy class and never got paid any salary as Davis Cup coach. If this does not shock you, nothing will. There have been any number of instances when the AITA has called players “anti-national” when they demanded money. Coaches, even before Zeeshan, worked quietly and went away but why should that be the case?
Today, Indian sports pays foreign coaches a decent salary in US dollars and across various disciplines from athletics to archery and shooting to hockey. There are even some cases where a national coach in women’s hockey gets paid much higher than others. So, why does the AITA think players and coaches should be doing charity? That was fine when, perhaps, Late Akhtar was Davis Cup coach purely for the love of the sport. Zeeshan got a raw deal even as a player. Ramesh Krishnan and Leander Paes were paid Rs 20 lakhs each (before tax) ahead of the Davis Cup semi-finals in 1993. For the record, at that time, Zeeshan got Rs 20,000!
Why is it that someone who has coached abroad and served Indian tennis with dedication does not even get appreciation in public? When Rahul Dravid was celebrated as coach after the Indian team won the ICC T20 World Cup, he did not accept a prize money in excess from the BCCI. In tennis, a coach quits after years of service and there is not even an acknowledgement. Whether or not things will change after the AITA elections on September 28, nobody knows. There is always hope, and to borrow from an old quote of Vijay Amritraj: “When you are at the bottom, there is only one way to look, and that’s up!”
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