The latest entrant in the Indian Grand Slam Club, Rohan Bopanna, met the Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel, at his residence here on Wednesday. Quite understandably, the 37-year-old Bopanna who won the French Open mixed doubles title with Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada, came for much praise from the minister.
‘’Rohan has been playing for 17 years and has contributed immensely for the growth of tennis. We are proud of his achievement at the French Open’’, the Sports Minister said.
When queried about the Arjuna award for Bopanna, the Minister was non-committal and said that the committee would look into the merits of the case and decide.
On his part, Bopanna talked about his academy in Bengaluru with 70 budding tennis players, apart from sharing the experience of winning his maiden Grand Slam title, and joining Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes and Sania Mirza.
The Sports Minister reiterated that the government was committed to promote excellence in sports and encourage individual efforts of those associated with the game. The minister reiterated that he was ever willing to listen to the suggestions of coaches and players to make sports ‘’a mass movement in the country’’.
Vijay Goel also praised the initiative by Bopanna to have an academy and assured that the Ministry would surely encourage such initiatives that help in scouting the talent for future.
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