The legendary Leander Paes on Wednesday lamented the decline of Indian tennis, describing it as a part of the “circle of life” whereas emphasising the necessity for endurance. The Indian group endured a 0-4 defeat towards Sweden in its Davis Cup World Group I tie not too long ago, which relegated them to the play-off stage for the upcoming yr. “Like something in life, whenever you go up, it’s a must to come down, and you then come again up once more. I’m an enormous believer within the circle of life,” the previous world No 1 in doubles stated.
“I believe all of us must have somewhat little bit of endurance so far as tennis goes. Now we have all loved such an upswing during the last 40 years, proving that we could be primary in each girls’s doubles and males’s doubles.” At the moment, Sumit Nagal is the one Indian participant within the prime 100 of the ATP males’s singles rankings, positioned at 83, whereas Ramkumar Ramanathan follows at 332.
At 44 years, Rohan Bopanna stays the flag-bearer of males’s doubles in India, at the moment ranked sixth, with one other veteran, Yuki Bhambri, at forty third.
The WTA rankings reveal a grim state of affairs for Indian girls’s tennis, with no gamers within the prime 200; Sahaja Yamalapalli is the highest-ranked Indian at 293.
The 51-year-old additional highlighted the numerous development of tennis in India over the previous 4 many years, noting its rise to turn into the second hottest sport after cricket.
“Over the 4 many years that I performed, tennis grew in recognition a lot that it turned the quantity two sport within the nation after cricket,” the winner of 18 Grand Slam titles stated.
“On the worldwide degree, tennis was successful extra Grand Slams and worldwide occasions. Between Sania, Mahesh, Bopanna and me, we’ve got collectively gained near 40 Grand Slam titles, together with Olympic medals and several other Asian Video games medals. Tennis noticed an important interval over about 40 years.
“Just a little little bit of endurance is required; the circle of life is enjoying out. We’ll expertise a stoop, however we’ll rise once more.
“The circle of life is obvious in all the pieces — enterprise or in any other case. The best key to success is endurance. I’ve little doubt that tennis will rise once more to the highest in India,” he added.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by EDNBOX employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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