Indian state of affairs on Hindustan Times Oct 30th,2014

From traveling as a junior to International tournaments to playing pro tennis, I have often been envious. Envious of other smaller countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and many other Asian countries who had a system in place for players like me, who could travel as a team to play tournaments all over the world, whose teams had sponsorship, who had a coach travel with them, who had nothing in the world to worry except to play tennis. I played International tennis from 1992 till 2002. There was no system then. I made a comeback in 2010 when I played in CWG and Asian Games. Still, nothing! From 1992 till date, there is no comprehensive system in place for top juniors and women in the country. Maybe they just don’t know what to do……
Humour me for a moment. If you were appointed as a head of an organization and you had no clue about the field itself, what would you do? I don’t know about you, but I would surround myself with the best in that field. I would learn about it, educate myself and do the right thing, so as to not mess it up!!! Or, I would at least appoint one person who knows his stuff and give him all the support and backing. That’s what someone who genuinely wants to improve the sport will do. But if holding on to that position is more important than improving the sport, then it’s just a sad case of history repeating itself in India.
Last time I was in India for my book launch, one of the people in the audience asked me “ What is the difference between USTA and AITA? It can’t be that different”. I was taken aback because I thought people knew. I thought they knew that USTA has multiple systems in place for their juniors. If you were in the top 5 in USA, you never needed to spend a dime for your coaching or travel. You will have access to the best facilities, be it courts, physical fitness equipment, mental coaching, physios, on court coaching- anything you can think of. There are grass roots programs, state level programs and national level programs. Each step is well laid out. It’s still not perfect and even with all these in place, USA still struggles to produce top players in recent times due to colleges taking their best crop.
The Sports Ministry has asked the President of AITA to step down since he has exceeded his tenure. Even in utmost unlikelihood that this even happens, it’s like choosing the devil and the deep blue sea. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Aditya Khanna,(already an office bearer in DLTA) the heir apparent, takes over. I honestly don’t know which is better!
The seat of the All India Tennis Association has obviously become a family tradition- almost reminds me of a dialogue from a bundle of a movie “ Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gum” Ye tho Parampara hai Beta- Parampara” the dad tells the son! But let me tell you, R. K. KHanna, the patriarch of this dynasty, did do one good thing when he was in position. He encouraged the State Ranking tournaments all over India , because of which many made a living by playing this sport . Those tournaments were a big boost for juniors like me at that time. It made the transition from juniors to women’s tennis smooth. Sadly, those too, were terminated!!
I had a dream…..I actually still do. I suggested these to the AITA four years ago. I dream of a tennis association that has people with a genuine passion for the game, not guys who are hired just because they come as cheap labor. I dream of a tennis association that educates its staff to be the best in the field, be it on the administrative side or coaching side. I dream of our juniors, traveling as a team with a coach. I dream of our pro players giving back to our sport by showing the juniors the ropes. I do realize that this might remain a dream………unless something drastic happens! The Sports Ministry needs to ask for a system overhaul instead!