New Delhi, Sep 10 — Playing for the country in marquee events like the Asian Games and Davis Cup brings a distinct level of responsibility compared to when playing individual events all around the year, said Rohit Rajpal, the non-playing captain for India in the Davis Cup.
Rajpal, a bronze medallist in tennis in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, further expressed confidence in tennis continuing its strong medal-winning tradition at the upcoming multi-sport event, to be played in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. The event will happen right after India takes on hosts South Korea in the Davis Cup World Group Qualifiers Round 2 in Seoul on September 18 and 19.
“No, it's just completely different. I mean, there, you're playing for yourself and your career. You do what you want. Here, you do have a responsibility because you're playing for your country. So, it's a different kind of pressure that playing for your country and your flag brings to you when in Davis Cup or playing in Asian Games,” Rajpal told IANS in an exclusive conversation, facilitated by subscription-free OTT platform VETO.
Though India’s tennis contingent was shockingly slashed from 12 to seven, leaving them with no women’s singles representation, Rajpal expressed optimism of a good performance coming out from Japan.
“But from my times, I was saying earlier as well, I'm an Asian Games medallist. So, even before me, we have always contributed to the medals tally. Tennis has always contributed and we've done well for India.
“Even in the last Asian Games, we had three or four medals (one silver and one bronze in mixed doubles and men’s doubles in Hangzhou), if I can recollect. So, we will definitely be contributing this time too.”
Rajpal also shed light on the perennial challenge Indian players face when transitioning from dominant junior careers on the ITF circuit to established professionals on the ATP tour. He attributed part of the lag to cultural and developmental factors, while noting that modern training methods and support systems are rapidly closing the physical gap.
“So, the transition traditionally has been a very difficult task because genetically, Indians mature later than, for example, Europeans or Americans. We've seen that they mature later - their bodies and mind matures later. That is because of how we are brought up - our family values, etc. We still treat them as children when they are 17 and 18.
“Over there, you need to leave your home and start working and fending for yourself at that age. Once you're done and you're expected to build your own life from there. So, all those things really come into play as your personality development, etc and that kind of reflects on the court as well or in sport, any sport that you play. But that is changing as we go along because the game has gotten much more physical.”
He further added that bridging the physical and mental gulf requires structured support as players step up to face seasoned competitors on tour who are often years older. “Then we have good physios and the boys are really, really focused on bridging that gap.
“Also, what happens is that when you're suddenly playing juniors and you cross that 18 mark and you start playing or even earlier, feature in the men's game, you're suddenly playing against players who are 10 years older to you - stronger and more mature.
“So, you need to match up to them and that's where the problems start coming - that if you're not physically or mentally not strong enough to match them. So, these are transitional issues that every player faces.
“But we are getting better and better at that now. I think more and more effort will be needed so that the transition period you spend in the same ecosystem where everybody else is transitioning - that it's a level playing field for everybody,” he concluded.