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By Arlene Chang
Leander Paes, Indias biggest name in tennis for the past decade, bagged yet another Wimbledon trophy Sunday when he captured the tournaments mixed doubles title alongside partner Cara Black.
But will cricket-crazy India acknowledge the significance of his victory a rare win by an Indian in a major international sports competition? Judging by the media coverage of the win thus far, the answer is no.
Indias Leander Paes celebrates Sunday after clinching his 12th Grand Slam title. Fellow Indians seem not to have noticed.
The only front-page coverage Mr. Paes grand-slam win got in local newspapers was a picture in the Hindustan Times and a small blurb on the cover of Mumbais Daily News and Analysis. Both those papers relegated full coverage of the victory to their back pages, as did the Times of India. (Unlike in many U.K. publications, the back pages in India arent reserved for the top sporting item of the day.)
The television station NDTV 24×7 did show a recurring clip of Mr. Paes relishing the experience of playing on Centre Court and heaping praise on Ms. Black for the duos big victory.
Even Indias politicians, usually so quick to applaud the achievements of the national cricket team, were muted in their appreciation of Paes achievement. The only bigwig who reportedly passed along congratulations was Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan.
What impresses me most about you is that you have achieved this success like a lone warrior carrying the expectations of the nation. The people of Maharashtra, your new home State, are especially proud of your achievement, Mr. Sankaranarayanan is said to have written in a letter to the tennis star, according to DNA.
Improving on their performance last year, Mr. Paes and Ms. Black, the No.2 seeds at Wimbledon, beat Wesley Moodie and Lisa Raymond in straight sets of 6-4 7-6 (7-5). This was Paes fourth Wimbledon championship, after winning the mens doubles title with countryman Mahesh Bhupathi and two other mixed doubles crowns, one with Lisa Raymond in 1999 and another with Martina Navratilova in 2003.
Sundays win takes Paes tally of Grand Slam championships to 12 six for mens doubles and six for mixed doubles. Thats a startling achievement given how much India usually struggles in international sporting events.
But, going by the lack of plaudits Mr. Paes has received from the press and public figures, most Indians are either taking his tennis success for granted or are simply too focused on cricket to pay much attention.
Paes? Wimbledon Win Gets Few Plaudits in India - India Real Time - WSJ
Leander Paes, Indias biggest name in tennis for the past decade, bagged yet another Wimbledon trophy Sunday when he captured the tournaments mixed doubles title alongside partner Cara Black.
But will cricket-crazy India acknowledge the significance of his victory a rare win by an Indian in a major international sports competition? Judging by the media coverage of the win thus far, the answer is no.
Indias Leander Paes celebrates Sunday after clinching his 12th Grand Slam title. Fellow Indians seem not to have noticed.
The only front-page coverage Mr. Paes grand-slam win got in local newspapers was a picture in the Hindustan Times and a small blurb on the cover of Mumbais Daily News and Analysis. Both those papers relegated full coverage of the victory to their back pages, as did the Times of India. (Unlike in many U.K. publications, the back pages in India arent reserved for the top sporting item of the day.)
The television station NDTV 24×7 did show a recurring clip of Mr. Paes relishing the experience of playing on Centre Court and heaping praise on Ms. Black for the duos big victory.
Even Indias politicians, usually so quick to applaud the achievements of the national cricket team, were muted in their appreciation of Paes achievement. The only bigwig who reportedly passed along congratulations was Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan.
What impresses me most about you is that you have achieved this success like a lone warrior carrying the expectations of the nation. The people of Maharashtra, your new home State, are especially proud of your achievement, Mr. Sankaranarayanan is said to have written in a letter to the tennis star, according to DNA.
Improving on their performance last year, Mr. Paes and Ms. Black, the No.2 seeds at Wimbledon, beat Wesley Moodie and Lisa Raymond in straight sets of 6-4 7-6 (7-5). This was Paes fourth Wimbledon championship, after winning the mens doubles title with countryman Mahesh Bhupathi and two other mixed doubles crowns, one with Lisa Raymond in 1999 and another with Martina Navratilova in 2003.
Sundays win takes Paes tally of Grand Slam championships to 12 six for mens doubles and six for mixed doubles. Thats a startling achievement given how much India usually struggles in international sporting events.
But, going by the lack of plaudits Mr. Paes has received from the press and public figures, most Indians are either taking his tennis success for granted or are simply too focused on cricket to pay much attention.
Paes? Wimbledon Win Gets Few Plaudits in India - India Real Time - WSJ
