Bridging Barriers with Qureshi and Bopanna
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna belong to a partnership which may well be the most controversial and documented pairing of this decade. The Pakistani-Indian duo has faced praise and prejudice, respect and dislike, popularity and notoriety for their
unlikely choice in partners. The two of them have also initiated a “Stop War, Start Tennis” campaign to promote the sport in their countries. It seems as if the world has sincerely rejoiced over the team’s success and initiative: this week, Bopanna and Qureshi
won the prestigious Peace and Sport Image of the Year Award.
For the past three years, Peace and Sport has honoured a moment in any sport; instances which demonstrate camaraderie, or an image which shows a moment symbolic enough to prove that sports can indeed promote peace and encourage reconciliation among people.
This year, for the first time, the picture was selected by an online vote. The picture of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna, taken by Jay Mandal and submitted by the ATP World Tour, received almost sixty percent of the votes.
Joel Bouzou, the President and founder of Peace and Sport, was full of praise for the Indo-Pak Express. He declared it to be a message of peace and called Bopanna and Qureshi a “unique source of inspiration” for people in both India and Pakistan. He also
spoke of their charisma and success as a means to raise awareness among the entire community, athletes and political authorities, as seen at the US Open, where both Indians and Pakistanis sat together in the stands to cheer on the team that united the best
of both countries.
This is demonstrated by Qureshi’s statement; in the weeks of the US Open, he said, “Indians were coming to take my autograph and get pictures of me. Pakistanis were taking (Bopanna’s) autographs, and it was just a great atmosphere after and during the match.”
Joel Bouzou is also quoted as saying, “Sport's greatest victory is not measured in terms of medals. It is measured by its ability to positively change people's lives and bring them hope and that's exactly what Rohan and Aisam succeed in doing. They demonstrate
what champions can achieve when they use their celebrity for a good cause.”
Bopanna and Qureshi are often asked questions about their friendship. Bopanna says in response to this, “Sitting here together, you could not differentiate between us, as it was the same country before partition. So it's just the same as going with [anybody]
and playing together. We didn't think when we were starting that this was going to be such a big issue — you know, playing with a Pakistani and him playing with an Indian. We complement each other with our styles.”
Peace and Sport will present the award to the duo during the Gala Evening of the 4th International Forum Peace and Sport. The event will take place on December 2, in Monaco; personalities in attendance include HSH Prince Albert II and 450 international
leaders from all over the world.
Bopanna and Qureshi’s next mission is the organization of a friendly tennis match at the Wagah border, the only crossing point between India and Pakistan. The event is supported by Peace and Sport, and seems to be in the works. Bopanna, when asked about
it, says, “Until today no one has ever said, ‘Why am I playing with somebody from a different religion?’ We've asked the prime ministers and presidents from both countries. If we can pull it off, I will play on the Pakistani side and Aisam will be on the Indian
side.”
The initiative taken by this young pair and their willingness to set apart differences is an inspiration to people. Their actions, and the similar actions of players such as Serbian Novak Djokovic and Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who exchanged their shirts at
the end of a match, are encouraging people to abandon prejudices and embrace the differences.
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