Numbers matter if Gulf states want to produce stars: Zeeshan

Sports Saturday 06/January/2018 22:00 PM
By: Times News Service
Numbers matter if Gulf states want to produce stars: Zeeshan

Muscat: World class infrastructure and tournaments, and a handful of talented players, will not ensure on-court success nor they help in producing future stars.
That observation, made by none other than former India player and Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali, holds true to tennis scene in the Gulf nations where ultra-modern facilities are in existence for years but no world class player to boast of.
A member of Indian Davis Cup team that reached the Davis Cup final in 1987, Zeeshan, who has been involved with tennis, both as player and a coach, in the Gulf region, is in Oman on a ‘private visit’, during which Times Sport caught up with the former India star to talk about the tennis scene in Gulf, what needs to be done to produce future stars, the status of Indian tennis and about his own career that was cut short by injuries.
Zeeshan Ali, who was a regular visitor to the Sultanate during his playing days, also spoke highly about Al Nabhani siblings, especially Fatma Al Nabhani ‘who could have achieved more with a little more attention to her fitness’.

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Question: You are returning to Oman after a long time. What brings you here this time?
Answer: I’ve been to Oman many times in the past and have always enjoyed my trips here. I love the nice relaxed atmosphere of the country and the people are very friendly. I was a regular at tennis tournaments organised at the Intercontinental hotel and won many times. This time the visit is a personal one as I’m attending a family wedding.

Q: You have been involved with tennis in the region having been the coach of the UAE Davis Cup team and also ran an academy in Dubai. What do youth think the Gulf Cup countries should do to develop local talents?
A: I lived between the UAE and the U.S. for 16 years. I was the coach of the UAE Davis Cup team and had my own academy in Dubai before heading back to India. Tennis in the Gulf countries need to be popularised. It’s the numbers that matter. The local tennis bodies should ensure that a large number of children take up the sport. Then there is a very good chance that the country might produce a few top class players. While the infrastructure is excellent all over the Gulf, unless you have the numbers, the chances of having a top ranked player is low. Having big events once a year exposes the local population to top ranked players but it doesn’t help the local talent. Unless the grassroots programme is solid, any country will struggle to churn out promising young players who will later turn pro. Having good coaches is also very important.

Q: Your impressions of tennis in Oman?
A: Oman has had a few talented players like Fatma Al Nabhani and her brothers Khalid and Mohammed. I’ve seen Fatma play a lot of tennis and always felt that she had the potential to do a lot more than she has achieved. She has the game, height and physique but needs to work on her fitness and movement. Just having talent is not enough in today’s day and age for any player to succeed. It is a combination of hard work, talent and a lot of support from the parents, local federation and the country.

Q: Your views on present status of tennis in India. After Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, no one has shown the same of kind of commitment and performed consistently. Will it change in the near future?
A: Tennis in India is very popular with a large number of kids taking up the sport not just as a hobby but as a profession. This shift in attitude in the last 10 years or so has seen a dramatic change in the Indian sports scene not just in tennis but other sports as well. Leander and Mahesh have done extremely well on the doubles tour and apart from them we currently have five players who are in the top 100 in the world in doubles. The infrastructure in India has definitely improved in the last few years. The AITA is having a lot more ATP ranking tournaments now than in the past and the government has started financially supporting top ranked players.
The future of Indian tennis is looking bright and it’s only a matter of time before we have players who will be in the top 100 in singles as well. Out of the current crop of tennis players, Yuki Bhambri, Ram Kumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal have been doing well. Yuki was ranked in the top 100 before getting injured. He is now climbing back in the rankings. This year is very crucial for both Yuki and Ram Kumar. We have a bunch of very talented 16 and 17 year olds kids like Adil Kalyanpur, Nitin Sinha, Siddhanth Bantia, Zeel Desai who I am hoping in the next couple of year’s to be ranked among the top mens and women players in the country and internationally.

Q: The situation is same in the Indian women’s tennis... after Nirupama Vaidyanathan (who used to travel a lot, taking part in various tournaments and Grand Slams) and of course, Sania Mirza.. though they are quite a number of girls playing the ITF Pro Circuit, no one is really up there, at least competing for a place in the Grand Slams.
A: Unfortunately there is not as much depth in the women’s tennis as in the men’s in India. We do have a few players like Ankita Raina, Karman Kaur Thandi and Zeel Desai who have the potential to do extremely well. Sania Mirza raised the bar extremely high especially in the doubles and it’s going to be a hard act to follow. The good thing is that there are a lot more girls playing the sport and it’s only a matter of time before we produce more world class and top ranked players.

Q: Coming back to Leander and Bhupathi... don’t you think the country has missed out on a number of medals and accolades due to their personal egos?
A: Whatever happened between Leander and Mahesh was tragic and they would definitely have won a few more doubles Grand Slams had they continued playing together.

Q: Seeing today’s young Indian players, are you reminded of your early career. With your talent, you raised the hopes of Indian tennis fans ... a lot of talent but never realised the full potential.
A: Yes, that’s true! I never fully lived up to my full potential as I had to stop playing tennis professionally at the age of 24 due to a severe back injury. Fortunately for me, by then I had achieved a lot more than a lot of Indian players who are playing today. I was already a seven times national champion, been a part of the Davis Cup team that reached the final in 1987 and then semifinals in 1993, represented India in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, won Asian Games gold medal and a singles ranking of 126 on the ATP tour. Injuries are a part and parcel of a sportsmans career but in my case, I was extremely unlucky that it ended my career as a professional tennis player.

Q: Seven national crowns and many state titles, one of them beating your dad...
A: I actually beat my dad in the Bengal State Championship men’s singles finals as a 14 year old. My dad claims that my mom threatened him that she would not let him enter the house if he beat me (chuckles). But I beg to defer.

Q: Not many remember your achievements: Gold and Silver in 1990 and 1994 Asian Games. Any regrets?
A: No regrets. Tennis was not so widely covered in the media at that point of time as it is today. Sportspeople have become household names today thanks to the print, TV and internet which cover practically each and every event all over the world. I remember the time when I beat some of the top players, including Pete Sampras, and hardly getting a mention in the newspaper back home. Things are very different today. The media has played a huge role in changing the mindset of the general population who now consider taking up sports as a profession and not a pastime.

Q: A few words about being the part of Indian Davis Cup team that reached the final in 1987 and 1993 semifinal
A: Representing the country whether it’s Davis Cup or any other event is what any sportsperson always dreams of. For me being on the Davis Cup team for the first time when we beat Australia in Australia in the semifinals in 1987 was an unbelievable initiation. Standing up and hearing the national anthem being played when you’ve won for the country and its entire population is something that’s very difficult to explain. Very few get to be a part of that and I consider myself very lucky and honoured to have experienced it. It was also a great privilege to be on the same Davis Cup team as Vijay and Anand Amritraj.

Q: On personal front, what next ... coaching, your academy in Bangalore, Davis Cup and Feb Cup coaching duties?
A: My move back to India after having lived abroad for 16 years was to be able to give back to the country that has given me so much ... to be able to pass on my knowledge and experience first as a player and now with over 22 years of coaching experience to the younger generation. I have my academy in Bangalore where we have residential programme for upcoming junior players. We have also given scholarships to underprivileged children as well as two hearing and speech impaired players. Our players are now among some of the top ranked juniors in the country. My goal is to produce the next generation of world class tennis players. Given the opportunity, I would love to to start the Zeeshan Ali Tennis Academy in Muscat in the near future.