No need to love all

India has a rich tradition of tennis players successfully punching way above their rankings when playing for the country. Leander Paes, Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi kept up that tradition so engrossingly this week at the Doha Asian Games. On a single day, Wednesday, between them they gained two golds and a silver. Tennis is not normally one of the main attractions at events like the Asiad or the Olympics. But the excitement over these wins draws not just from India8217;s poor harvest in its old strengths like athletics and hockey. It comes, more positively and just as in Jaisha Orachatteri8217;s personal best run in the women8217;s 5000 m, from a joyousness in seeing sportspersons drive themselves to produce a best unforecast by their career histories.

The three tennis players have, of course, done more than their bit on the professional circuit. Paes and Bhupathi are habituees in doubles finals, Mirza keeps springing surprise upsets every so often. But this week they came together in unique ways to gain medals for the country. Paes and Bhupathi could not keep their unfortunate rift from becoming public even at victory ceremonies, but it did not cost them a gold. Paes, visibly ageing, drew instead on his immense experience to stop Mirza8217;s spirits from sinking upon a string of lost opportunities in the mixed doubles final.

Paes, in fact, exemplifies the uniqueness of Indian tennis. Recall how in the eighties, riding on nothing more than determination, Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan took India to the Davis Cup final. This capacity to manage in team situations what would have been so much more difficult in an individual bid is overlaid with the strange bitterness that Paes and Bhupathi have nurtured for much of their careers. Strangely, they have, given India8217;s nationalistic following in tennis, been burdened with gratuitous advice to play together for the sake of India. Such advice shows a complete misreading of the nature of the ATP tour. Let8217;s enjoy their victories when they come at inter-country events. But let8217;s keep nationalism out of their individual careers.