I never disrespect the tennis community, I am a part of it: Rohit Rajpal

India's non-playing Davis Cup captain Rohit Rajpal on Saturday clarified that his 'shut up' comment was aimed at a few 'agenda-driven' people who consistently targeted him and was not aimed at the country's tennis community as projected. In a off-the-cuff interview with PTI, Rajpal said people questioning his credentials as Davis Cup captain should do some research and he is not someone who would stick to the position despite players' resistance. He asserted that it is not necessary that only an experienced player can become a good coach and ensure the success of the national team. To make his point, he said that highly successful players did not have renowned names on their support staff.

Rajpal, who is largely a non-controversial person, courted controversy after India lost 0-4 to Sweden in the previous Davis Cup match in Stockholm when he told his critics to “shut their mouths”.

Rajpal, 54, admitted that he should not have reacted after he was provoked during the media interaction. Rajpal said his sharp reaction was a result of the frustration he felt towards a large number of Indian supporters after the defeat.

“I am the Indian tennis community myself. I am part of the association, I am part of so many things. My life was tennis. I can never even dream of something like this, just to say keep your mouth shut Indian community Why should I do that?,” Rajpal said during his visit to the PTI headquarters in Delhi.

“I would never think of disrespecting someone like that, but I shouldn't have responded to those three or four guys to be completely honest. But the question was asked in such a bad way and that too for my team that sat next to me.” for me, I felt humiliated.” Rajpal said he knows the people who want him out, but he doesn't want to make their names public.

“What I really felt bad about was that one person is creating a story in the wrong way and this continues, and no one even bothers to go back and watch the tape, go into details,” said he, clarifying that the question had not been asked. on behalf of the entire Indian tennis community, but are “haters”.

Rajpal took over the captaincy in 2019 when then skipper Mahesh Bhupathi opted not to travel to Pakistan due to security reasons.

His credentials were questioned upon his appointment and during his tenure. He has played just one Davis Cup match in his career: a dead rubber against Korea in 1990.

However, he was part of the bronze medal-winning team at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing.

Does he think he deserves to lead India in the Davis Cup? “Whether I deserve to be there or not is not a decision I like to justify. That lies in the hands of the Executive Committee, which is supreme.

“There are plenty of people there who know tennis. They've been there since we were kids in sports administration, so I'm sure they'll make a balanced decision.

“The second area is my players. On the day I feel that my players feel like someone else will do a better job, I am the first to walk away myself. I don't need to be told to go. I'm ready to walk away.” even today.” While the discussion focused on his own playing career, Rajpal said he was a perfect example of “what not to do”.

“I had to stop because I slipped two checkers in the back. Before that I beat some very good players. I played at the highest level. No one can take that away from me. I am a medalist at the Asian Games.”

“I am also an Asian champion, but I have never chosen to talk about it because I don't want to blow my own trumpet.

“I come from the group of players who always said: let your racket do the talking. Mahesh Bhupati and Somdev themselves recommended my name while playing and set the condition to the AITA that I be the captain.” Rajpal said he was overtrained due to a lack of guidance and that ended his career, which saw him beat Leander Paes a number of times and lose some very close matches to greats such as Wayne Ferreira and Tim Henman.

“Looking back, I had one bad habit that cost me my career, which was getting up at 5 a.m. and running 12 miles on the road.

“At that time, we didn't have shoes with good cushioning. We had a local shoe that sponsored me. And with that shoe I ran seven days a week. Every day of my life I ran 12 miles on the road to build endurance.

“And then obviously I'm a great example of, as my coaches say, not knowing when to stop. I didn't stop until it got dark. I just believed that hard work would get me through.” He recalled the time when he challenged some of the world's higher-ranked players.

“I was fortunate enough to train in Sweden and at Harry Hoffman's in Tampa, Florida. I trained with Jim Courier at the time and he was a slugger. And after a full day he left and I still trained for another two hours after he left, and then become better than him.

“I overtrained. And so my career ended very quickly. At 19, 20, I was already a man with two hernias in my back and a very bad left leg. Wayne Ferrera, when I played against him, he was number one. 11 in the world on ATP That was an exciting match.

“Tim Henman, again, a top player and I don't need to tell you his credentials. It was a very exciting match, I lost the third set tiebreak.

“And I don't blame some people for not knowing these things. Like I said, people don't do research anymore. People don't look at things in depth anymore. People just look at things from the surface, right? And that's a sad part.

“I'm not trying to justify, you know, or blow my trumpet. But I played at a world level myself. And nothing, no one can take that away from me.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)