WE’RE TAKEN FOR GRANTED
he turn of events in Indian tennis is unfortunate and I, as an athlete and woman tennis player, stand by Sania Mirza. Once the drama unfolded, I wondered why Sania hadn’t reacted. When she did, she ensured that people knew she was unhappy with the turn of events.
Women’s tennis has been neglected for long. It’s not that AITA is biased towards men, it’s just that they take women players for granted. There is no emphasis on making it better. That’s the reason why we have to turn to 34-year-old Rushmi Chakravarthi to partner Sania at the London Games.
The problem lies with the fact that there is no system in place. There wasn’t one 15 years ago. There isn’t one now. When such problems erupt it becomes difficult to sort them out.
When I was the top-ranked women’s player in the country more than a decade ago, there wasn’t a single sponsor who helped me tide over finances. Such was the attitude among the officials that they wouldn’t even help me with a recommendation letter. The only time I got financial assistance from them was when I became the first woman to win a round at a Grand Slam (Australian Open). Then they did give me some money as a token of appreciation.
Although sponsors have been kind to Sania, nothing much has changed in the system. It isn’t much different from what it was back then, women’s tennis continues to occupy the second rung in the priority list of the AITA.
The facilities have surely improved. This I saw when I participated in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but the attitudes remain the same.
I feel the current issue could have been dealt with in a better way and should have been addressed a year ago. AITA should have sat all the players down and sorted things out. I know for a fact that amongst the players, communication is not at its best, a fact AITA is well aware of. AITA has many questions to answer, the primary one being, why did we make a public spectacle of our pride? US-based Nirupama is a former
Indian tennis star As told to Manuja Veerappa