Break Point
This week is a great week to begin my diary - a remarkable week for Indian sport. And today is August 15th - India's independence. What better time to start blogging.
For those of you who do not know me, I am an aspiring tennis player and a proud Indian. Tennis is my profession - my career if you will.
In my profession, when I take to the courts, I am not referred to as Rohan Bopanna - Tennis player. That would be redundant. My educational qualification, age, family, etc., all are not relevant.
I am Rohan Bopanna - IND.
In the tennis world, just as in much of the sports world, one's country is part of the identity. IND (India) is part of my identity. Peripherally, I am ATP ranked (my highest ranking is 43 in doubles, 213 in singles). For the keener fan, I have made the finals of an ATP event five times. I won my first ATP title last week in LA.
My point is this - when I win, my country is a winner - it is part of my glory. I am proud of this fact - that I play as an Indian. I am in a sport where everyone is working very hard. Everybody wants to excel. Like others, I strive to improve my game. That is the essence of sport - I hope to give it my best.
It is also a fact that in every victory and with every struggle, I hope that I have inspired more people from India to embrace sport. Just like the other great tennis players before me that inspired me - Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and other senior players. And there are many others in my own generation - I am merely continuing the splendid tradition of tennis in India. I have been inspired by the Indian greats - both in my sport and in other sports.
The last few days have marked an extraordinary milestone for India. A fellow Indian, Abhinav Bindra, just won an Olympic gold medal for an individual sport. His feat of individual excellence has been called epochal. A billion hopes for an individual gold medal have been fulfilled - for the first time. The Indian anthem was played and the tricolor was unfurled after a long time for being the best in an Olympic event. Every wave begins as a ripple and I have no doubt that Abhinav's achievement will transform the sporting future of India. My congratulations to him.
As a fellow sportsman, I am very proud of his achievement - he silently toiled on the firing range for years. I can relate to the struggles that preceded this brilliant effort. It is easy to say - oh, we are a billion people - and we have not won a single gold. Winning is not a numbers game. It takes hard work. Commitment. And perseverance. He had them all.
The last few days have been satisfying for me too. I won my first ATP title on the same day that Bindra won his path breaking gold. It was Sunday (August 11th). I made the finals of an ATP doubles event for the second time this year. And I can now claim to have won my first ATP title. Eric Butorac and I won the doubles event at the Countrywide Classic. This is a month after me and my partner Aisam Qureshi made it to the finals in Newport in July, before losing the final battle. But two finals in two months gives me satisfaction. Things are looking up. Winning has a way of boosting your confidence.
I started playing tennis at 11, and I have steadily improved my game. Aside from the fact that I won an ATP title for the first time, I have the satisfaction that my rankings are improving and are going to improve further after this win. And that to me is the real deal. To improve, to overcome limitations, to win - I aspire to win.
I like DreamTennis.com. It is a pioneering effort - to create a tennis community for Indian tennis lovers. I can relate to the website's name - DREAM TENNIS. Every sportsman has dreamed of excellence. There are thousands of tennis players in India who aspire to win a grand slam event. And each day, they are working hard to make that dream come true.
With my DreamTennis blog, I hope to share my experiences with you - perhaps I can inspire a few of my fellow Indians to dream.