I was reading an Indian newspaper online yesterday and I came across this bizarre news item in the sport section. It was the President of the All India Tennis Association (AITA), Anil Khanna making some dullard comments on national media. He is trying to unhinge a company which has associated itself with the country’s star tennis player, Mahesh Bhupathi to release their spending details of their scholarships and to scrap their advertising campaign. Apollo tyres in a tie-up with Mahesh Bhupathi are going to help fund prospective junior champions to make them Grand slam winners by 2018. They are selflessly pumping in about 1 billion rupees over 10 years to help actualise a prospicient dream. There is one company for a change who are not looking for quick publicity through funding cricket, but have put their interest in tennis. Imagine being treated like this for doing a favour.
Sports in India other than cricket lack selfless funding to make an impact. Athletes are always left fending for themselves and these financial constrains restrict talented athletes to make it to the international stage. The AITA should respect Apollo tyres for a feat that it is ready for the big task. Getting a huge sponsorship like this is only possible with stars like Bhupathi trying to make a difference to the sport that brought them their riches and fame. This is a commendable act by the champion to put his credibility on the line to create champions. Sponsorships do not come easy and I have had a firsthand experience of that with my sibling. It is a humungous task to convince a funding source that the money they spend on the athlete is justified. Many give up hope due to the slack of the respective sports associations to bring in the critical finances.
The sports associations in India are headed by people who are distantly connected with the sport, but come into power due to their political or social connections. Once they get into decision making positions, they have no clue as to how to manage and improve the affairs of the sport. But the disappointing scenario is that they are a constant obstacle to people with a real interest to make a difference. Anil Khanna in his statement repeatedly says that he is not against Mahesh Bhupathi. The very fact that he reiterates the same sentence makes it very obvious that he is targeting him. Bhupathi owns a sports promotion firm which help manage international tennis tournaments in India. These events tend to give our in house players some much needed international exposure which they cannot afford due to the costs involved in overseas trips. If my memory serves me right, Anil Khanna has made another pitch against Bhupati by passing a resolution that private organisers could not conduct international tournaments in India without the AITA’s nod. Well all these series of events and circumstances makes it evident that a person with good intentions is victimised. It is shameful on the president to behave without consideration against a well known personality. This shows that he is the most incompetent person and that he cannot tolerate Bhupathi’s contribution and achievements. He does not have the capacity to either bring in a huge sponsorship deal like Bhupathi has done with the kind partnership of Apollo tyres, or neither let the combination work in peace.
Individuals like Anil Khanna do more harm to the sport than good. His organisational incompetence is showing up and his evil face is being revealed. Another classical example of a sport going rot is hockey with the mess than K.P.S Gill created. He sent our national sport stumbling down like an avalanche after taking over the post of President of Hockey Association. I just hope tennis; a game that has retained some dignity and popularity in India is not headed the same way. Let’s all cross our fingers and support champions like Bhupathi to create their clones to bring us fame.
A presentation ceremony of a tennis tournament.
President: “ ladies and gentleman, lets applaud the players for their fantastic “BAT” (for racquet) skills......
The kids chuckle in the background....
