Paris Olympics: Bopanna-Balaji ready to put ‘best foot forward’ in India’s hunt for second tennis medal
Paris: Paris Olympics 2024 will feature three Indian tennis players for the first time since Leander Paes’ bronze medal triumph at Atlanta 1996. Three-time Olympian and former World No. 1 doubles player Rohan Bopanna, and his partner in men’s doubles Sriram Balaji spoke about their hopes of bringing home a tennis doubles medal.
“I think we’re making sure we’re going out there fully ready. I don’t think we’re here to just represent but we will put our best foot forward and give it a real shot,” said Bopanna to JioCinema.
“We hope so. We’re going to give our best and try for a medal,” added Balaji.
Bopanna has been India’s star tennis player for the better part of two decades. The 44-year-old became the oldest man to win a Grand Slam at the 2024 Australian Open and has been looking forward to the Games since creating history.
“I knew I was going to remain in Top-10, especially after winning the Australian Open 2024. I knew that with a Top-10 ranking, we were going to have a team here in Paris 2024. I’ve been looking forward to this, I don’t think anything gets bigger or better than being at the Mecca of an event like this and representing the country at such a prestigious event. We have a great team, we’ve been working very hard in the last few days, and it’s beautiful to be back in Paris,” said Bopanna.
Everything surrounding Bopanna screams heritage whereas his partner is getting ready to make his Olympics debut that too at the fabled Roland Garros which is also known as the mecca of clay courts. Balaji further talked about how big of an opportunity this event marks for him and how he feels about playing on the court that he is familiar with.
“Definitely, it’s more than a dream come true for me. Thanks to everyone and Rohan for bringing me here,” said Balaji “Clay has got its pros and cons. I’ve been playing on clay for more than a decade, ever since I moved to Germany. So, I’ve been adapting to play on clay. Right now, with our doubles team style, I feel we both serve big and if we can make a lot of returns and put pressure, it’s going to be good for us,” added Balaji.
Although all Indian supporters will be looking towards the Bopanna-Balaji duo, the tennis fraternity is beyond excited to see one of the legends of the game, Rafael Nadal team up with two-time Wimbledon winner and young icon Carlos Alcaraz. Balaji claimed that he would love the opportunity to play against the star-studded duo.
“I would like to face them but not in the early stages of the tournament. I’d like to get a couple of matches in and then play against them,” he concluded.
Apart from the experienced duo, the 26-year-old Sumit Nagal has also qualified for the men’s singles event in the Paris Olympics.
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