Rajeev Ram thread...

[Omkara]

Given the state of Indian tennis, I would say, he did right staying away. He has made more money. Lives in a developed country, which I believe he thinks it's his!!

[jayakris]

Given the state of Indian tennis, I would say, he did right staying away. He has made more money. Lives in a developed country, which I believe he thinks it's his!!

Well, like Prakash Amritraj, Rajeev could have continued to live in the US and done pretty much the same things he did, and made a name and got fame. He didn't even need to change citizenship, as India did not require it then.

Heck, he would have won at least a couple of Olympics doubles golds with India (with Sania, Bhupathi, LP, Bops etc as possible partners when they were all fighting with each other and not jelling well ), and his medals would have counted for a lot more than it did in USA. He got one silver, and remains as the only Indian name to ever get an Olympic silver medal in tennis... But nobody even knows that he is an Olympics medalist in the US (and by the way, he took out Sania and Bops in the SF in partnership with Venus, and screwed us out of that silver medal too ).

Is he as big a name as Bhupathi is, while having better accomplishments? I don't think so. One can make an argument that he has better achievements than even Leander. His #56 career best in singles would make him the 4th best Indian ever, after Ramanathan, Vijay, and Ramesh. He would be much bigger a celebrity than he is, had he played under Indian colors.

Don't forget, the name "Rajeev Ram" itself would have made him the darling of a lot of Indians. Perfect for a lot of endorsements. Has anybody seen Rajeev Ram on a TV product endorsement in the US? I rest my case.

[prasen9]

But, he has had a decent career, been an Olympic medalist and can sleep in peace. USTA supported him and he stuck with them. Loyalty means something. He does not have to feel like Judas the rest of his life. You know 17 year olds make decisions. Some of them may be wrong. But, he stuck with what his values were and his heart was telling him, and at the end will have a good life. It is not always about optimizing your gains in life ...

[jayakris]

^^^ Very well said. Yes, he can sleep in peace. Actually, even when the Davis Cup captain dropped him recently (in a bizarre decision), most US tennis fans stood by him, and he got the last laugh - as he is back in the team and the captain is canned as of last week. Rajeev has been a standup guy all his tennis life.

[Omkara]

The desire to get players from outside the country but of Indian parentage, to play for India is flawed.

If a country of 1.4 b people cannot produce decent players, the mistake is ours. Solution lies in India and not abroad.

I remember meeting this Indian guy in London. His parents emigrated. He is of Indian origin but a Brit from heart. His loyalties were/are from Britain.

Let's focus at home. Given the shape of aita and no intervention from the government, we should continue to be as bad/good as we are. Unless a parent in India decides otherwise and the kid is once a lifetime kind of talent.

[VReddy]

The desire to get players from outside the country but of Indian parentage, to play for India is flawed. Let's focus at home

I think most of the forum members fall into similar state as Rajeev Ram - Indians based abroad. Indians living in India are a minority in our forum these days

IMO Rajeev took the most ethical decision. If my future is in Switzerland (or USA in Rajeev case), then I should represent that country. Ofcourse I will still be proud of my Indian heritage / culture like Rajeev and will keep in close contacts with my roots and in fact eager to do my bit to improve India in my capacity after doing what I can for my residence country. Most of our next generation SI Forumers fall into this bucket too - i.e., Rohan Belday.