Rohan Bopanna to end Davis Cup career in September, wants to play farewell game in Bengaluru
New Delhi, Jun 21: India's top doubles player Rohan Bopanna on Wednesday revealed that he will bring curtains down on his Davis Cup career when the country hosts Morocco in September but the Karnataka player won't be able to play his farewell match in his home state, as desired by him, since AITA has already awarded the match to Uttar Pradesh.
India are scheduled to play Morocco in a World Group II tie in September.
The 43-year-old Bopanna, who made his Davis Cup debut in 2002 and is still playing solid tennis on the ATP Tour, has played 32 ties for India.
"I am planning to play my last Davis Cup match in September," Bopanna told PTI from London.
"I have been in the team since 2002. I want it to be held at home and I spoke to all the boys (Indian players) they are all happy to play in Bengaluru. KSLTA is also happy to have it there. Now it's up to our federation to see if they want to do it in Bangalore.
"Since I have been playing for 20 years, I just have to speak to captain and figure out if they want to do it there. It will be good for everyone to come and watch one last time. Playing at 43 is a bonus," Bopanna, who is only one on the four Indians to have won a Grand Slam title, added.
It is only apt that a player, who has contributed to Indian tennis' success in the prestigious tournament over the years, gets to play his last match at the venue of his choice.
However, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) confirmed to PTI that it won't be able to give the tie to Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA).
"To be fair, it would have been good for Rohan to play his last India-match in Bengaluru but we have already committed to UP. The tie will be played in Lucknow, it has already been decided," AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar said.
Leander Paes has played the most number of ties for India with 58 appearances, followed by Jaideep Mukherjee (43), Ramanathan Krishnan (43), Premjit Lal (41) Anand Amirtraj (39), Mahesh Bhupathi (35), Vijay Amritraj (32).
So, Bopanna will overtake the legendary Vijay Amritraj in terms of number of Davis Cup appearances when he plays against Morocco.
In his 32 ties, Bopanna won 12 singles matches and 10 doubles rubbers.
Asked if he will continue to play on the ATP Tour, Bopanna replied in an affirmative.
"If I don't play on Tour, another Indian won't get that spot. Like if I don't play Wimbledon it's not like that spot will go to an Indian. But in Davis Cup, my spot will go to an Indian. It's been so many years, so there is a bunch of players coming up."
Asked when did he decide to quit Davis Cup, Bopanna said,"I always had it in my mind that I have to stop at some point of time. And since this is a home tie, I thought it's a good time to go. For country also it's significant."
Bopanna is 43 but is still pulling off title-winning performances on the Tour. In March he became the oldest player to win a Master Series tournament (ATP1000) at Indian Wells in USA.
Bopanna had broken the record of Canadian Daniel Nestor, who had won the Cincinnati Masters title when he was 42 in 2015.
"It's been a fantastic year for me, breaking back in the top 10, being able to still represent the country, playing at the biggest stage," Bopanna, ranked 11 in the world, said.
The Indian Davis Cup team was relegated to the World Group II for the first time since the new format was launched in 2019 after losing the playoff tie 2-3 to Denmark in February this year.
In the last six ties, India suffered defeats in four.
The team won against lower-ranked Pakistan in Kazakhstan and against Denmark in New Delhi on grass courts.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
