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Rajpal, who took over as the skipper of the side in 2019 after Mahesh Bhupathi opted not to travel to Pakistan citing security reasons, opined that one does not need to have a successful career as a player in order to become a good coach.
Rohit Rajpal. (X)
Team India’s Davis Cup skipper Rohit Rajpal defended his position as the non-playing captain in the tournament and hit out at those who questioned his place in the side.
Following India’s 0-4 loss to Sweden in their previous Davis Cup appearance, the 53-year-old had asked doubters to keep quiet and he clarified his comments yet again.
“I am myself the Indian tennis community. I’m part of the association, I’m part of so many things. My life has been tennis. I can never even dream of something like this, to say shut up to the Indian community. Why would I do that?” Rajpal said.
“I would never think of disrespecting somebody like that, but I should have also not reacted to even those three or four guys to be very honest. But the question was asked in such a bad manner and that also in front of my team sitting next to me I felt humiliated.”
Rajpal, who took over as the skipper of the side in 2019 after Mahesh Bhupathi opted not to travel to Pakistan citing security reasons, expressed that he is aware of the people who want him out but chose not to reveal their names.
“What I really felt bad about was that one person creates a narrative in a wrong way and that carries through, and nobody even bothers to go back and see the tape, go into details,” Rajpal said.
He spotted the competence of the executive committee to name him the skipper of the side and opined that one does not need to have a successful career as a player in order to become a good coach.
“Whether I deserve to be there or not is not a decision I would like to justify. That is in the hands of the Executive Committee, which is supreme,” he said.
“There are enough people who know tennis there. They have been there in sports administration since we were kids so I’m sure they take a balanced decision,” Rajpal continued.
“The second area is my players. The day I feel that my players feel somebody else will do a better job I am the first one to walk out myself. I don’t need to be told to go. I am ready to walk out even today,” he continued.
Rajpal, who represented India in a David Cup tie against Korea in 1990 and also managed to clinch bronze at the Asian Games the same year, opened up on his short playing career and the injuries that forced him out of professional tennis early.
“I had to quit because I slipped two discs in the back. Before that I’ve beaten some very good players. I’ve played at the top level. Nobody can take that away from me. I’m an Asian Games medallist,” he said.
“I’m a Asian champion as well but I’ve never chosen to speak about it because I don’t want to blow my own trumpet,” Rajpal explaiuned.
“I come again from the batch of players that always said let your racket do the talking. Mahesh Bhupati and Somdev, when they were playing, they themselves recommended my name and put a condition with the AITA that I be the captain.”
He also opined that his habit of over-exerting during training cost him dearly as did the lack of support he received during his playing days.
“I had one bad habit when I look back, which cost me my career, which was getting up at 5 in the morning and running 20 kilometres on the road,” the 53-year-old claimed.
“In those days, we did not have good cushioned shoes. We had a local shoe that sponsored me. And I ran with that shoe seven days a week. Every day of my life, I ran 20 kilometers on the road to build endurance,” he added.
“And then obviously, I’m a good example of, as my coaches say, that I did not know when to stop. I stopped only when it got dark. I only believed that hard work would take me through,” Rajpal said.
He also reflected on his clashes against some top-quality players including Tim Henman, Harry Hoffman and Wayne Ferrera back in the day.
“I had the good fortune of training in Sweden and in Harry Hoffman’s in Tampa, in Florida. I was training at that time with Jim Courier and he was a slugger. And, after a full day, he would leave and I would still train two hours more after he left, only to get better than him,” the Indian skipper said.
“I over-trained. And that’s how my career ended very quickly. At 19, 20, I was already a guy with two slipped discs in my back and a very bad left leg. Wayne Ferrera, when I played him, he was number 11 in the world on ATP. That was a close match.”
“Tim Henman, again, a top player and I don’t need to tell his credentials to you. It was a very close match, I lost third set tie-breaker,” he reminisced.
“And I don’t blame some of the people for not being able to know these things. Like I said to you, people don’t research anymore. People don’t look at things at in-depth anymore. People look at things only from the surface, right? And which is a sad part.”
“I’m not trying to justify, you know, or trying to blow my trumpet. But I played at a world-class level myself. And nothing, nobody can take that away from me,” he signed off.
