Vijay Amritraj thread

[puneets]

Thanks for sharing it with us PKB.

[BSharma]

I wish I could hear Vijay live since he is such a fascinating speaker and a colorful personality.  PKB, any chance that someone recorded your introduction and Vijay's speech and we could view them via u-tube or other means?

Is it true that the tennis balls are six times heavier now than when Vijay played tennis?  I started playing tennis in 1960 and I don't remember the tennis balls being that much lighter in weight.  I used to buy used tennis balls from Gymkhana Club for 50 paise each and I would use them till their fur was completely gone and they would become light by then.  

I wish Vijay had answered punarayan's question.  The latter has a very good suggestion because picking the athletic type of children will help discover the future champions.  I compared golf and tennis in India because of the observation Daniel Chopra made about his perceived lack of hunger for success in many Indian children of very rich parents.  

[jaydeep]

Thanks PKB for sharing memorable experiance of speding quality time with Vijay and listening his speech ...  Definetly great experiance ... PKB, as Bhushan suggested any chance of seeing vedio or listening audio of ur function?

Jaydeep.

[jai_in_canada]

Nice story about Vijay Amritraj.  I've been a fan ever since I saw him as a 19 year old playing Davis Cup against John Newcombe and the rest of the Aussies in Chennai in '73.  Even as a youngster he stood up against the AITA (Anil Khanna, IIRC), saying during one heated exchange "you can kick an old man because you know who he is, but don't kick a young man because you don't know who he will become."  Always had a way with words and people.  And he's parlayed that skill along with his tennis celebrity into many leadership roles.  Thanks PKB for your story.  Interesting he would say that the proudest moments of his career are watching his son winning Davis Cup matches.  I have a biography that he wrote even while he was playing, which has many insights into his entry into tennis, his health challenges as an asthmatic, his development into the pros, Bud Collins making him part of the ABC of tennis in '74 along with Borg and Connors, and other anecdotes from the pro tour.

[PKBasu]

Aha, Jai reveals his age as well. I must admit I thought you were a lot younger! I think you are referring to the same autobiography, Vijay!, written with Richard Evans. I had him autograph my copy on Tuesday. He really has a terrific gift for words and uplifting phrases.
Bhushan, I organised this event in less than 36 hours so couldn't have it videotaped, or even audio taped. However, I will hopefully do a bigger event with Vijay, and the next time I will definitely tape it! Some in the audience took photographs, and I will post them if I can get in touch with those who did...unfortunately I am now in Madrid on the first leg of a 10 day European trip, so I can only follow up after Feb 2nd.

[jai_in_canada]

Aha, Jai reveals his age as well. I must admit I thought you were a lot younger! I think you are referring to the same autobiography, Vijay!, written with Richard Evans. I had him autograph my copy on Tuesday. ...

Yup, I'm in my mid-forties - going on 16, if you ask some people close to me.  Can't remember the author of Vijay's biography - the book is in India.  Safe travels!

[BSharma]

using tennis parlance , vijay believes the mess can be sorted out

Vijay Amritraj's work with people with HIV infection

Thanks Rajiv for pointing out this article about Vijay Amritraj.  This link was originally posted in the Davis Cup thread, but I am so glad that Vijay has started a foundation to help people with HIV in India.  It is a very noble effort by Vijay and his work will help many people.  HIV is still not a curable disease, but preventive measures help tremendously in people not contracting the disease (people-to-people transmission or mother-to-infant transmission).  The medical therapy of HIV has advanced significantly also.  I treated my first patient with HIV infection sometime in 1986 or so and I can vividly remember my first seven patients.  The average life span of a child with HIV infection in 1980s was about 18-24 months and some would survive to about 8 or 9 years of age.  Touch wood, ever since the new classes of medicines have become available in 1990s, I now have patients (children) with HIV graduating from high school or in middle school/high school and you cannot tell them apart from any normal teenager, yet these children have HIV since birth.  There is hope that there will be a cure for HIV some day, but in the mean time, efforts by Vijay Amritraj and others will go a long way to help reduce the burden of HIV in India.

My hats off to Vijay.   :notworthy:

[Rajiv]

sharmaji , i had posted somtime back about the vijay amritaj fountadation and here is the link once again in case you missed out earlier

http://www.vijayamritrajfoundation.org/

it is a beautifull site with a  classic blend of vijay's playing days coupled with nostalgic tennis clip plus his humanitarian endevours
truly very few or rather none of indian sportmen can match vijay in such standards viz  sporting abilty and social services.
and it is really sad that the way some of the forum members in the past have vilified him and even calling him malaise of india tennis  and than in a clasic case of flip flop which is trully & equally laughable changing their opinion once they have met him

[PKBasu]

and it is really sad that the way some of the forum members in the past have vilified him and even calling him malaise of india tennis  and than in a clasic case of flip flop which is trully & equally laughable changing their opinion once they have met him

Rajiv, what exactly is this about, and who are you referring to? I don't know who has villified him in the past, although some have had strong disagreements with some of his actions. (I note that you, Rajiv, have attacked Vijay quite recently in one of your posts as well...). If you are hinting it is me who has "villified" Vijay and then done a "flip flop" upon meeting him, you are thoroughly wrong in your contention. I started this thread, and everyone can see just how much I admire Vijay Amritraj as a tennis player and as a man. Of course, that does not prevent me from saying when he is wrong. I do not believe in treating our heroes as icons who are beyond comment or criticism. Having met Vijay, my appreciation of him as a man and an especially inspirational speaker has gone up several notches. I have occasionally disagreed with some of his manoeuvres on behalf of his son or with regard to the Davis Cup team in the 1980s (when he was at loggerheads with Ramanathan Krishnan). But that doesn't detract from his wonderfully charming personality, which is what helps explain his enormous post-tennis success -- even when compared with other contemporaries of his like Borg and Connors, and the vast gap between his public presence (and ability to do good in the world) and that of the reticent Ramesh Krishnan. 

[Rajiv]

i dnot recollect having attacked vijay
even if i would have unknowingly done it ,i am curious to know so  can you pls refresh my memory and quote me....

[PKBasu]

vijay unfortunately has a dubious comment against him in the popular tennis book of the 80's , "SHORT CIRCUIT" which gave a ringside view about the duboius going on's on the circuit,
under the chapter of "tanking" he was mentioned  to as having  tanked a doubles match along with nick saviano as his partner at a tournament in rome italy.

[Rajiv]

you said quite recently i have attacked ,and finally you had to go back 3 years to dig out an  comment and than to construct it as an attack  where as i am simply  referring and pointing out an passage which apprears in the book, , by no means i am endorsing it  or criticizing vijay  who at times i feel is god in tennis shorts, ask anybody  on the forum whether this statement implies  an attack or  merely a reference to a passage in the book.

[jaydeep]

Cool down guys ... We all knows u both consider Vijay on high esteem and may be u r having different of opinions on couple of his actions or statements ... So such difference of opinion can go with any relationship or admiration ...

Jaydeep.

[PKBasu]

Vijay's file from the Wimbledon archives:

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/d ... index.html

Vijay played 19 consecutive years, and 17 consecutive years of singles. He made the singles QF twice (1973 and 1981, when he beat 6th seeded Brian Teacher in R2 and lost a heartbreaker to Connors, after having a few match-points in the third set). He also made the PQF in singles in 1985, beating 11th seeded Yannick Noah in R3. Vijay also made one SF (1976) and one other QF in doubles, and two QFs in MxD.

[suresh]

My memory of Vijay always recalls the moments when he had top players such as Connors on the ropes only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. If only he were a bit more ruthless, he would have achieved a lot more.