It’s been a long wait, truly means a lot to me: Rohan Bopanna on finally getting Arjuna Award

When Saketh Myneni, not Rohan Bopanna, got the the Arjuna Award last year, many were surprised by the turn of events.

Myneni had won gold and silver at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, while Bopanna – who was yet to win a medal at a multi-sport event – was the top-ranked men’s doubles player and had just won his first Grand Slam title – the 2017 French Open mixed doubles crown with Gabriela Dabrowski.

The word was that it was a bureaucratic error as the deadline for nomination had already passed that year, much before Bopanna became only the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam. But in truth, Bopanna’s recommendation for Arjuna Awards had been denied for seven to eight years before that.

Bopanna had then taken to social media to slam the All India Tennis Association for “the lack of professionalism and efficiency”, congratulated Myneni and moved on.

But in a year’s time, he has proved his credentials for the Arjuna Award beyond a doubt as he won the Asian Games gold, in men’s doubles gold with Divij Sharan, just a week before the US Open where he reached the quarter-final. He was also nominated for Khel Ratna after the Asian Games success.

“The Arjuna Award means a lot to me, it’s good to be appreciated for a sport you have been playing for so long. It is a big achievement personally for me and I am extremely happy with the performance at Asian Games and US Open, everything combined. It has been a long wait for me and it truly means a lot,” Bopanna told Scroll.in from China.

While his nomination for Arjuna Award was sent much before the Asian Games this year, the fact that it has taken so long to get the recognition is not lost on anyone. Before Myneni last year, the last Indian tennis player to get the award was Somdev Devvarman back in 2011 after Sania Mirza in 2004.

A veteran on the ATP doubles circuit, the 38-year-old is the highest-ranked Indian in men’s doubles with a career-high ranking of world No 3 achieved in 2013. He been a member of the Indian Davis Cup team since 2002 and has represented India at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, where he finished an agonising fourth in mixed doubles with Sania Mirza.

He has two other Major finals to his name before and after the French Open title, but a Grand Slam trophy is considered equal to gold in World Championships in consideration for sports awards.

However, despite finally being recognised, Bopanna won’t be able to collect his award in person, also in part due to mismanagement by the ones in charge. He will be in Chengdu, playing the ATP event there with temporary doubles partner N Sriram Balaji.

“The entry for this tournament closed two weeks ago and they hadn’t announced the list and I obviously didn’t even know what the date was (for Arjuna Award function), nothing was really mentioned. The email came to me literally three days ago with the date and I had already made plans, committed to Balaji that I will be playing with him here. It is a tough decision for me to pull out of here and come to India. I would have obviously loved to be there and receive the award from the President, there is nothing bigger than that,” he added.

From almost pulling out to gold

The Asian Games gold holds a special meaning for the Indian as it came after an injury layoff that almost forced him to pull out at the last minute. He hadn’t played after retiring from Wimbledon in the second round of doubles with a shoulder injury.

“Two days before I went to the Asian Games, I almost pulled out because my shoulder wasn’t 100% fit. But then I still decided to go and see how I feel, especially the atmosphere there and being in competition.

“That definitely made a difference mentally, even though I did a lot of rehab and strengthening for six weeks to get ready. I am glad I went, the weather was extremely good during practice and (I was) really happy with the way I personally was playing on court. Divij and I combined well, I get along with Divij very well and that made it easier and we won the gold.

“From there going to New York, it was definitely not easy it was a long flight but extremely happy with the performance there, reaching the quarter-finals despite not having too much of preparation before the Grand Slam on the playing conditions in the US,” he added.

Asked if the medal also ticked off a personal checkbox – a win representing India – Bopanna was quick to respond that no matter the tournament is multi-sport event or the ATP Tour, he is always representing his country.

The next goal is to qualify for the year-ending ATP Finals in London where only the top-eight qualify. He is currently ranked 14th in the race and will be playing will regular partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin at Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris. “That’s two 500s and two Masters tournaments. I think we still have an outside shot for London and we are going to try to do everything we can to qualify,” he said.