‘RIP dear Akhtar’: Vijay Amritraj remembers mentor Akhtar Ali

NEW DELHI: On the 12th day of a training camp in Shillong, Meghalaya, shortly after he had turned 13, Vijay Amritraj felt the watchful gaze of national coach Akhtar Ali intensify. Ali, 81, who had been suffering from various ailments for the past few months, passed away in the early hours of Sunday in Kolkata. The news swept across the Indian tennis fraternity as tributes started pouring in. Amritraj himself took to Twitter to write: “Aktar Ali was terrific as a coach both when I was a junior as well as coach of our India Davis Cup team. Always pushed hard n kept the team relaxed. He did great service to Indian Tennis. RIP dear Aktar (sic).”