Is this a hurdle too high?

A romance called Davis Cup enthralled Indian tennis fans for long. Protagonists like Ramanathan Krishnan, Jaidip Mukerjea, Premjit Lall, Naresh Kumar, Anand and Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have all had their say in making “playing for the country” the most exhilarating experience.

However, India seem to have hit a big speed-breaker on the road. The last time India featured in the elite World Group was in 1998 and their last final appearance was a good 11 years earlier. Since then, the tricolour has fluttered bravely but not with the gusto that was seen when they took on the best in the world, though ranked much lower the ATP order. Fired by patriotism they matched more fancied opponents shot for shot.

For the past years, India have faltered, and their scheme of things has not extended beyond the boundaries of the Asia-Oceania Zone.

“The competition is getting tougher and tougher in the Asian zone,” said Akhtar Ali, long associated with the Indian Davis Cup team as a player and a coach. “You see, the standard of tennis in Davis Cup has improved drastically. India are struggling, but it’s not that we don’t have good players now. Rohan Bopanna is doing well, Prakash (Amritraj) is also talented,” he says.

But there can be no denying the fact that a certain downslide has been seen in India’s fortunes in recent years ever since Paes and Bhupathi moved past their prime. On their able shoulders — especially Paes’ — India had ridden long enough. And the time has come for the baton to be passed on. Mahesh Bhupathi has already stopped playing singles. And when India take on Uzbekistan in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 quarter finals, the injured Paes may only be playing a non-playing captain’s role. Akhtar is unwilling to rule him out, though. “Knowing Leander, he may decide to have a go at the last minute,” he said. And Davis Cup rules do allow the captain to change the team at the last minute.

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