‘Leander and Mahesh are more than just colleagues’

‘Leander and Mahesh are more than just colleagues’

VECE Paes. The name that proved that hereditary stardom in sports can be a possibility. S Mageshwarancaught up with the 1972 Munich Olympics hockey bronze medallist during his visit to watch son Leander resume his famous partnership with Mahesh Bhupathi at the ATP World Doubles.

Excerpts

On Leander’s return to doubles play with Mahesh
‘‘His game in this tournament has been as good as ever. But when I talk about Leander’s game, it is not in isolation. Leander’s playing well also means Mahesh has been doing well. And that’s how their partnership has regained its form.‘‘The two are certainly two of the most talented doubles players the world has ever seen. I don’t want to call them the greatest ever yet, because of the questions of longevity. They had a terrific year in 1999. The year 2000 has been plagued by injuries, but I’m confident they’ll be back to their usual winning ways in 2001.’’

On Leander’s singles play
‘‘He has got a direct entry at Chennai (For the Gold Flake Open). He has two Challengers lined up in India after that. We are trying to get a wild card at Dubai Open. So in the first six weeks, if he can a make run for it and maintain his singles rankings at around 100, we know he can focus on his singles too.

‘‘We did give a thought about having a separate coach for singles. But the two are resetting their doubles, they will continue with Bob Carmichael for 2001. Carmichael will coach both Leander and Mahesh.’’

On the allegations that the coach was a reason for the rift between the two
‘‘Bob was never in this controversy. He is a very independent, very reclusive type of coach. He is worried only about his job on the court. He would never get involved in any personal issues.

‘‘As for Rico (Enrico Piperno), we can’t blame him too for the problem. Because if a problem took place between Leander and Mahesh, it’s the two primary figures who are to blame for allowing whatever the circumstances that caused the mistrust to overtake them. ‘‘But I wouldn’t want to go into those circumstances at all. We have buried that controversy and allowed it to settle. It’s not important what happened, but it’s more important what’ll happen, especially since the boys have resumed to play well together.’’

On the suggestions that the two can remain ‘colleagues’ and not necessarily friends.
‘‘That would seem to work in the Western sense. Where two players come in, play and then move on. But our Indian athletes are a lot more emotional. Leander is a guy who sees all of life, all his friends, in black and white. So if he has to really perform at his best, he needs to trust and he needs to be a close friend.

‘‘I think at this moment in time the two are playing tennis rather professionally, but they have an instinctive fondness for each other. And that’s coming through. Leander knows he is instinctively fond of Mahesh and he’s letting that dominate the relationship. The trust will take time from both sides. But it’s only a matter for it to be built.’’

On Leander’s tonsured head
‘‘It hit all of us by surprise. It also worries to an extent about his image. People have an image of Leander with hair, an image of softness. With this new tonsured look, we’re worried about that image. He is saying something new. May be we’ll have to start working about this new image of his.’’

On hockey, his sport
‘‘It’s not as bad as we make it out to be. We are comparing our present hockey team to the teams of the past and we expect that we should win everything. And it looks bad, when you do such comparisons. We are No 6-7 in the world and we are maintaining that position.

‘‘We have tried the whole gamut of coaches in India. We have even rolled them around two or three times trying the same coaches. It hasn’t worked. So we have to look abroad for a coach. There’s no question about that.

‘‘And unlike in other sports, like soccer, where we have undermined the foreign coach, we need to protect this foreign coach. Make sure the coaches in India don’t undermine his system and authority. And we do have a chance.’’

His comparisons of hockey and football.
‘‘As far as hockey is concerned, there’s a huge sentiment in the entire country that some time we need to look at it. Basically, it’s our national sport emotionally, although cricket has taken that slot now.

‘‘The question is nobody of substance is willing to put their efforts into hockey be it the sponsors or any individual. Because there’s conception that the Indian Hockey Federation is not organised. I’m not being critical, but there’s a perception that the IHF is a disorganised body. So everyone thinks, ‘why put in our investment into an area that’s insecure and unstable.’

‘‘As far as tennis is concerned, inspite of the periodical controversies regarding the All India Tennis Association, I think they are a professional organisation. They have certainly raised the profile of the game; they have raised the funding for the sport.

‘‘But I think there needs to be a focus on supporting talent at a young age and provide the opportunity of competing abroad for 9-10 months a year. And thereby you’ll produce another Leander or Mahesh.

‘‘The only difference why these two went ahead of their contemporaries was they were playing abroad for 6-8 months a year from a very young age, whereas the others were playing in India.

‘‘Thus, if the AITA can set up a programme for these elite talented youngsters from the age of 14-15 for another 6-8 years, you’ll find the next Leander and Mahesh.’’