Rohan Bopanna says “We don't feel we are from two separate nations”
The Pakistan- India connection made Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna a global talking point at the United States Open tennis tournament in New York. However, the players are of the view that they don’t even consider themselves from two separate countries.
They were the first Pakistan- India duo that made their way into the final of the Grand Slam tournament and their playing together and performing well at the highest level, generated immense interest.
Even the Ambassadors from both Pakistan and India to America came together to support their players which was enough for the press to give some political angle to the coverage, keeping in mind the two nations have fought a total of three major wars since
gaining independence back in 1947.
The media all over the world coined terms such as Indo-Pak peace duo or Indo- Pak Express to describe their teaming however Rohan on Wednesday said that he and Aisam have never even though about the nations they belong to and their compatibility as players
was the only reason behind their pairing.
"Aisam and I teamed up just because we thought that we would make a great doubles pair. We are familiar of each other for the past many years and enjoy a good understanding so it only made sense to come out as a team. We are not interested in any political
matters going on between Indian and Pakistan. It is the media who likes to highlight the political sight of our teaming up however we never consider ourselves as being from two separate nations,” said Rohan.
Questioned that playing with a strong tag such as "Stop War & Start Tennis" itself was a diplomatic statement, Rohan said that being peace ambassadors, they used that message and there was no political intention behind it.
“Our sole purpose of being together is to play. Both of us are great friends off the tennis court and are planning to carry on our doubles team for a long way in the future. Since we, are also peace ambassadors so we try to give our message through tennis
and we are not here to make any radical statement at all. As far as our recent United States Open performance is concerned, we are extremely glad that we made our way into the final. We are hoping to play even better in the next couple of months and win major
titles and eventually improve our world rankings to the highest level. I am already famous for my confidence and this final run will further help me in boosting up my level of confidence to great heights”, added Rohan.
Both of them have managed to bring together the two hostile countries to scream, clap as well as enjoy together and they are expected to continue doing so for the next couple of years and entertain the tennis fans of both Pakistan and India.
While commenting on the biggest clash of their professional life, the Indian Davis Cupper added he and Aisam now have the belief that they can win the Grand Slam titles and could soon even grab one.
"Earlier we never thought of making it that far however now we are aware of our abilities and have no doubts about the fact that we have full potential to win a Grand Slam title. Now we have bigger targets to achieve. All we need to do at the moment is to
stay focused and keep working hard on our weaknesses and we will soon win a major crown for sure”, explained the Indian tennis ace, Rohan.
The finalist’s trophy has already secured them a huge bonanza as they have improved their world doubles ranking to number six by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Tags: