Boom, boom, Bhupathi — A rare appearance on centre court

Then came the Fourth National Games and news that Indian athletes were breaking new records in slower timings. Sriram Singh’s 800 metre record of 1:45.77 was set in 1976. As if the fact that no Indian athlete has overtaken it in a althese years is not bad enough, this time the event was won in a timing of over 1:51.

In such a dismal situation those winning lobs and volleys that the Bhupathi-Hira duo delivered with an a most Parisian savvy, were just what the coach had ordered. The fact that no Indian or, for that matter, Japanese had won a Grand Slam title ever since the Opens were introduced in 1968, makes that victory even sweeter.

Sports is truly one of the great pan-Indian symbols left. A sports win, therefore, comes loaded with the Feel Good Factor. When Ramanathan Krishnan made it to the Wimbledon semi-finals twice in the 1960s, there were cheers all around. Both Vijay Amritraj, who led India to two Davis Cup finals in 1975 and 1987 respectively, and Ramesh Krishnan, who became the first Indian to win the Wimbledon and French Junior Championships, have on occasions done the country proud. Then there was Leander Paes. The young Calcutta player returned from Atlanta with an Olympic Bronze last year to a hero’s welcome for having ended the Olympic medal drought. But these wins, few and far between as they were, have all been instances of personal glory and individual triumph. Collectively, they do not represent a quantum leap in the country’s sporting performances. For instance, after Ramanathan Krishnan’s volleys at Wimbledon, India had to wait for a whole new generation to emerge for an encore.

This brings the issue right back to today’s hero Mahesh Bhupathi. There is tennis greatness there waiting to be turned into wins, not just in the doubles game but in the singles as well. His distinctive strengths a booming serve and a firm forehand are what make or break champions today. Bhupathi’s booms must be made to work. To execute that leap from a singles rating of 479 to that of 284 in the last six months is satisfying, but not good enough. While Paes is already struggling to figure in that magic 100, Bhupathi at 284 has a long haul ahead. But wins can act like adrenalin. Bhupathi must now use that morale-boosting Paris win to power himself into even bigger performances, not just in Wimbledon that follows in a few days, but in the months and years ahead. Here’s looking at you kid.