I’m not pro-Mahesh or pro-Leander but a change was needed: Somdev Devvarman

Somdev Devvarman said that the tennis administration was not concerned with developing sport in the country. (Express Photo)

A spearhead of Indian tennis for many years, Somdev Devvarman has also been vocal for the cause of the players in the country. In a sincere chat with The Indian Express, the former India n. 1 talks about the need for athletes to talk about the problems of their sport, the break in the team caused by the relationship between the legends of the double Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi and the inefficiency of the former president of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) Anil Khanna in the development of this sport.

Players may not want to express opinions publicly, but is there a recognition of problems when they are among them?

I think so. In the end, at least for me personally, if I’m in a living room situation or I’m eating with someone, I don’t see the point of not being honest. But you can’t do it silently, especially when you’re dealing with an organization that has a history like the Khanna at AITA. This boy named RK Khanna tennis stadium a stadium on government ground. And nobody talks about it. Then get out, shake his hand and pretend you’re the savior of tennis. And now her children are being treated for the same thing. It does not make sense. These guys don’t care about tennis. I mean, they never did.

The other day I was talking about age fraud. For me, it boils down to incompetence. These top guys have no motivation to work. They have no idea of ​​working and don’t care if the system improves. So why will he do it? If the players aren’t together and say enough is enough, then nothing will change. Look at the captain (Rohit Rajpal) right now. What is your activity in international tennis based on how long you have been out of it? I mean, it’s a joke. It’s an absolute joke. And if you can’t call a sword a sword, what’s the point of being a good player.

Was there a division in the Davis Cup team when you started playing?

Basically, before the Davis Cup tie in 2008, it’s no secret that there was almost a rebellion against Leander Paes, who was captain at the time. I think Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Prakash Amritraj and maybe someone else, said they didn’t want Leander to be the captain. They also asked me to join at that time, but I was still in college and I said to them straight away, “Guys, I’ve never been a fan of the Lee-Hesh type of situation and I’m still in college, so please keep me out of it. Guys, go ahead and do what you want to do, but keep me out. “

This was in February 2008 against Uzbekistan on the grass in Delhi. The next draw they played against Japan, Prakash and Rohan won (the first two rubber singles and Leander and Mahesh won the doubles), but immediately after that draw (it was assured) they said they would no longer play with Leander. And I was still this guy who came in and out of the team – I wasn’t a fixture on the team.

READ | Somdev Devvarman: Why are we comfortably insensitive?

I joined the team at the end of 2008 in a draw against Romania and then in 2009 we played a draw against the Chinese Taipei. It became very clear to me that the entire Davis Cup team was a Leander team.

One of the people I respect most is Vece Paes (Leander’s father), nobody in Indian tennis, in my opinion, would have anything negative to say against this guy. But you do the math – Leander’s father was the team doctor, Sanjay Singh (manager of Paes) was the team masseuse but it wasn’t a physio, which is the problem because in a tie, let’s say I turn my ankle or your knee or my shoulder, you need physiotherapy and not a masseuse. There is a big difference between the two. Nandan Bal was the coach who at the time – if there was a Leander-Mahesh field, Bal was in the Leander field. It didn’t seem to me that things had been done fairly and I spoke after two or three ties.

With all the chaos and controversy surrounding the Davis Cup ties in India, particularly with the selection of teams, do you think that among younger players, there may be a reluctance to play because of these things?

It Could Happen All these issues we are talking about are not centered around India. If you follow the stories of world tennis and the Davis Cup all over the world, it is happening in many countries. Dudi Sela, an Israeli who made the semifinals with his country, had problems with his federation for years.

Getting on flights for 15-16 hours is not easy and keep in mind that players do not play ten tournaments per year, but play 30-35 tournaments per year. Many times these players have no guarantee that they will play, so in some cases, I would be interested to see what Sumit (Nagal) is thinking about this situation. He went into balance thinking about playing and didn’t play. And now it’s gone from that draw to God knows where for a tournament.

Somdev Devvarman retired from the game in 2017. (Source: File Photo)

Has there ever been a case where players joined for a cause?

If you go back to 2013, the Davis Cup tie between India and South Korea in Delhi was the first time in the history of Indian tennis that 11 players boycotted the Davis Cup tie. We didn’t boycott it because we didn’t want India to win, but we boycotted it because we were tired of the way AITA was behaving. Sick and tired.

We go to AITA and ask for cash transparency like a million times. Whenever all players would get different amounts. Why was this happening? Were they trying to divide and rule? Well, we thought it was enough and we boycotted. More importantly, after the boycott, we lost to Korea. But here, immediately after the loss everything has changed, so far obviously. Now it’s back to the old system as clearly there seems to be a lack of leadership among the players.

READ | Somdev Devvarman: “Police brutality is horrible, off the charts”

Korea was the game played in February 2013, we played a game in April against Indonesia and at that point all players were paid equally. There were six players on the team and the top 4 flew into business class and everyone got a salary. We have the physique we wanted. We didn’t take the coaches and captains we wanted, but in practice a negotiation was happening. So it is possible to go out and make a change.

The 2013 draw that we boycotted involved a lot of the money that was being distributed, but also who took these positions and why they were getting them. I had the impression that it should be fair and that players should have a say. And keep in mind that at this point it was we who played singles. The times when India conquered the World Group in the Davis Cup, Rohan Bopanna and I were the individual players. And I don’t need to remind everyone that in the Davis Cup, four points are for singles and one point for doubles. Despite everything, it seemed that all attention was going in the opposite direction and I didn’t think it was right, so I felt it was right to speak.

Are you telling me that in the midst of a crisis between Leander and Mahesh if the people on the Davis Cup team are all pro-Leander, do you think it won’t create a rift? I’m not pro-Mahesh or pro-Leander, but it seemed clear enough that a change was needed.

When you joined the team for the first time, were you satisfied with the composition of the team in terms of support staff?

When I was on the Davis Cup team, some members were told to stay away from me. There were some people on the training staff that I said I didn’t want to have anything to do with you guys. And that was it. We got them out of the team. Keep in mind that these people have maintained their positions on the team for years and years.

But based on what? How can we actually improve? None of these people had any experience in international tennis and didn’t even want it. As long as the players remain silent, I don’t see any changes going on, in any sport. This actually asks a good question. Are players in all sports happy with how things work in the current system? If the answer is yes, it makes sense. If the answer is no, then why are you silent? What are you so afraid of? Look at the number of players in Indian tennis who have remained calm and have not made any money. It infuriates me, to be honest.

???? The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest titles

For all the latest sports news, download the Indian Express app.

© The Indian Express (P) Ltd