Leander - a supreme athlete!

The physical appearance betrays the fitness and sharp thinking that accompanies him on to the court. Leander Paes, the oldest man to win a Grand Slam, a feat he accomplished last week when he won the Men's Doubles US Open Title, is still a wild cat on the hunt on court, the speed of the hands and the suppleness of the torso working in tandem and placing the tennis ball exactly as the mind had demanded.

For those who had seen the young boy in his teens who went on to win the Junior Wimbledon and US Open titles at the age of 17, there might be little to differentiate in the on-court aggression and swiftness of the racket that he has managed to carry on to this day.

Pairing up with Radek Stepanek, the win in the US Open Finals was taken as a forgone conclusion once the duo had beaten the current best in business, the Bryan brothers of Bob and Mike in the semis much to the disappointment of the partisan crowd gathered at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Indeed, the Finals proved to be so, with the eventual winners pocketing 8 of the first 9 games and breaking the opponents right in the beginning of the second set after taking the first set 6-1. Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares were struggling to make themselves counted much before Peya’s back started giving him trouble in the middle of the second set and they lost in straight sets to the Indo-Czech pair.

Lot of what we see of Paes – his speed, reflexes, net game and drop shots complement his partner’s game who finds comfort playing from the baseline and looks untroubled with long rallies. 

What made Leander to stick with Stepanek when the latter had had a spinal surgery earlier in the year -  was it Lee’s practical reading of his phase in his career, understanding the time and energy involved in working out the chemistry with another partner right from scratch; or a genuine friend cum partner who believed as much as Stepanek did that he would soon be fit enough to play and compete at the highest level; or a mix of both, we would not know.

But what we do know in retrospect is that Leander made the right choice and the two seem to have forged a partnership based on trust and friendship, patience and backing.  Their on-court antics during the US Open, an involuntary invention as they seemed to indicate was as much fun to them as was flavour to the game, in this less popular cousin of the singles competition.

Paes has been on the tennis circuit for more than two decades and seems impregnable to the degeneration that accompanies age. Whether he would be playing Olympics in Rio or not is not a decision that would ride on Leander alone, there would be a lot of younger players and veterans fighting to capture the attention of the AITA (All India Tennis Association) but the old warhorse refuses to surrender.  

The Olympics are still a few years away and the legs might not be as strong as they were a few years back but with a mind and game as strong as his, a ticket to Brazil in 2016 might just be beckoning for this ageless wonder. The Indian fans would be watching keenly. 

Saina seated comfortably on the throne

Happy smiles could be seen all around after the conclusion of Season 1 of the Indian Badminton League. After a long merry-go-round of ‘will happen - might not happen – likely to happen later’, the league finally took off and the quality of the games lived up to its billing. Sold-out stadiums and presence of celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sanjay Manjrekar among the audience only added to its value and spectator interest in this 19-day spectacle.

While the presence of top ranked International players in singles and doubles provided the meat that this inaugural season needed for a successful kick-off, the clash of the tournament was seen to be the match between the top two Women’s players of the host country – Saina Nehwal from Hyderabad Hotshots and P.V Sindhu from Awadhe Warriors. The tournament organisers had planned for the inaugural day to carry this contest but the players and their teams helped to set the climax too with a similar duel.

After the two matches that were played against each other, the senior pro settled much debate on who is hotter on court at the moment. If Sindhu entertained glimpses of hope after the battle started, it ended in the first few minutes of the first game of the first match. Saina seemed to be measuring up her opponent initially while Sindhu attacked the net and delivered smashes beyond the more experienced player’s reach.

Pitched next to Sindhu and some of the South Asian players, Saina could come across a few pounds heavier for her frame but she would not allow it to come in the way of her nimble-footedness, powerful smashes, reach and coverage of the court. 

It did not take long for her to get into the groove and soon she was all over the court and Sindhu. Her body smashes on her opponent seemed well rehearsed in the mind especially in the Finals.  

Much to a badminton fan’s delight, the backline was used as much as the net and the centre of the court by both players to not allow the match to slip into a one-dimensional contest as some of the other matches were.

While Sindhu showed her class and her Icon status in the league by beating the recently retired and two-time All-England Champion, Tine Baun twice and the No. 3 ranked Juliane Schenk, it was against Saina Nehwal and in front of the split crowd support that she found it difficult to regroup herself quickly.  Crowd support can work either ways – provide energy or pile on pressure. Sindhu probably let the pressure overwhelm her as could be seen in her body language.

She has much catch up to do to further her BWF rankings but this teenager has a lot of positives to take back from the first Indian Badminton league.

Saina Nehwal could heave a sigh of relief in the meantime, her claim to the throne in Indian Badminton does not seem to be under any immediate threat.