Bopanna’s last dance with unfancied Balaji; stiff test awaits in-form Nagal

Paris: Rohan Bopanna, the oldest player in the Indian contingent at 44, might not have a strong partner he had in previous Olympics, but in N Sriram Balaji, the veteran tennis player has a comrade, who can punch above his weight in Paris when they compete in men’s doubles event.

India’s first and only tennis medal in Olympics came back in 1996, when Leander Paes created history with a singles bronze at the Atlanta Games.

India did not win an Olympic medal even when the legendary Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi competed together in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008). Not even when Bopanna had Bhupathi as his partner in 2012 in London.

Not even when Paes and Bopanna played as a pair in 2016 and not even when Bopanna had Sania Mirza on the same side of the court in Rio Games in mixed doubles. These are the most successful names in Indian tennis, the only players to have won Grand Slam titles in the country’s history.

To expect Bopanna to deliver the goods with Balaji, who has barely started playing at the big stage, is implausible. Yet, they are preparing in the best possible manner, given the limitations.

They competed as a team in Hamburg and skipped the Umag tournament in Croatia to give themselves a few practice hours at Roland Garros, a venue where Bopanna has some great

memories.