It was India day in New England as Indian tennis stars Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj were formally inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame as its 265th and 267th members. Joining them was veteran tennis journalist Richard Evans, a chronicler of 200 Majors, and the biographer of Amritraj.
Welcoming them to the illustrious club was many of the game’s greatest and fellow Hall of Famers; including 18 Grand Slam winner Christ Evert, her greatest rival and friend Martina Navratilova, Andre Agassi, Stan Smith, and WTA founding member Rosie Casals.
The hallowed Horseshow grass court, venue of the original US National Championships between 1881 and 1914, resembled an Indian wedding party as loud cheers, hoots and whistles celebrated the new inductees.
ALSO READ | From becoming champions to Hall of Fame induction, Newport remains special for Paes, Amritraj
The Indians, in vibrant sarees and crisp bandhgalas, were everywhere, outnumbering the more stoic, buttoned-up members of the club. It was a splash of Bollywood into an old-school Wimbledon tea party, and the setting was chaotically beautiful.
Navratilova, who won two of her 59 Majors partnering with Leander, introduced the 18-time Grand Slam winner as the player who played tennis “the way most of us would like to play.” “He has got that off-speed serve, big forehand, the sliced backhand where it lands exactly where you don’t want to land. When he comes to the net, big forehand volley, reflexes like a leopard, He runs every ball down, if he can’t he dives for it. And if all else fails, he smiles and then everybody’s heart melts,” Navratilova said. “Leander, it was truly my honour to play against you. I enjoyed it a lot more when I played with you. You have done your family proud; you have done our sport proud and most of all you have done India proud.”
Leander, dressed in a cream-coloured sherwani and the Padma Shri and Padma Bhusan proudly pinned to his lapel, said: “It is a privilege to be on this stage with these people who have inspired me every single day of my life. They are not just Grand Slam winners, but have shaped the world we live in. I thank all of you for giving this Indian boy hope.”
ALSO READ | Leander Paes, Vijay Amritraj celebrated at International Tennis Hall of Fame
Amritraj, winner of 28 tour-level titles, was introduced by his son Prakash, who called him “my greatest hero, who also happens to be my father.”
Amritraj reached the Wimbledon singles quarterfinals as a 19-year-old in 1973 and became the first Asian to join the ITHF in the contributor’s category. “When I was given the news that this year I will be inducted, a feeling came over me that I had never experienced. Tennis has allowed me to meet people I never thought I would meet, and it has given me more things than I could have possible imagined. It will always be a part of our lives and always bring families, communities and countries together,” Amritraj said. “This is not just an honour for me, my parents, my family, but for my fellow Indians, my country.”
With the Tiranga fluttering high atop the old Casino Building and Bhangra moves breaking out to AP Dhillon’s ‘Brown Munde’, it was unmistakably India’s day in Newport. The two Brown Munde had done the country proud.
Comments
SHARE