Tom Brady or Virat Kohli: Who tops Vijay Amritraj's list of favourite sports stars?
Amritraj said he’s also partial towards Federer because of the way he manages his schedule.
By Apoorva Puranik, ET Bureau |
Agencies
Kohli, Federer or Brady? Tennis star Vijay Amritraj says only one of them is known “even in the Congo”.
Here’s a billion-dollar question — who is the most famous sports star in the world? Turns out, everyone is divided over this. Various polling websites, sports magazines and millions of social media posts are torn between Rafael Nadal, Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer or Cristiano Ronaldo. Former tennis player Vijay Amritraj, though, feels it’s no contest.
On a breezy evening in Bengaluru recently, Amritraj recalled a head-scratching question that a journalist from the US asked him after this year’s SuperBowl: Who is more famous — NFL star Tom Brady or Indian team skipper Virat Kohli?
“I told him it’s Roger Federer,” Amritraj said with a laugh. “If Tom Brady came to India, nobody would recognise him. If Virat Kohli went to, say, Boston, no one would give him a second look. But people will know Federer even in the Congo!”
Amritraj said he’s also partial towards Federer because of the way he manages his schedule, unlike some who succumb to injuries for playing more that they can take. No prizes here for guessing who he was referring to.
The highest-ranked Indian singles player (he was World No. 16 in 1980), says the game has changed like “night into day” from his time. “The racquets, balls and courts have changed, even the height of players has changed. When I was playing, I was among the tallest. Now, it’s the average height.” The tennis star attributes the game getting more physically demanding to these changes.
“The game has gotten a bit ahead for us as Indians as it’s become so physical. We’ve had a lot of promising talents over the years who unfortunately failed to deliver.” But promising players like Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who recently rose to a careerbest ATP rank 80, will surely change that. “Thanks to players like him, we seem to be coming out of the dip and back on the road,” he said.
Here’s a billion-dollar question — who is the most famous sports star in the world? Turns out, everyone is divided over this. Various polling websites, sports magazines and millions of social media posts are torn between Rafael Nadal, Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer or Cristiano Ronaldo. Former tennis player Vijay Amritraj, though, feels it’s no contest.
On a breezy evening in Bengaluru recently, Amritraj recalled a head-scratching question that a journalist from the US asked him after this year’s SuperBowl: Who is more famous — NFL star Tom Brady or Indian team skipper Virat Kohli?
“I told him it’s Roger Federer,” Amritraj said with a laugh. “If Tom Brady came to India, nobody would recognise him. If Virat Kohli went to, say, Boston, no one would give him a second look. But people will know Federer even in the Congo!”
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(In pic from left: Naomi Osaka, Diego Costa, Monica Seles)
Amritraj said he’s also partial towards Federer because of the way he manages his schedule, unlike some who succumb to injuries for playing more that they can take. No prizes here for guessing who he was referring to.
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The highest-ranked Indian singles player (he was World No. 16 in 1980), says the game has changed like “night into day” from his time. “The racquets, balls and courts have changed, even the height of players has changed. When I was playing, I was among the tallest. Now, it’s the average height.” The tennis star attributes the game getting more physically demanding to these changes.
“The game has gotten a bit ahead for us as Indians as it’s become so physical. We’ve had a lot of promising talents over the years who unfortunately failed to deliver.” But promising players like Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who recently rose to a careerbest ATP rank 80, will surely change that. “Thanks to players like him, we seem to be coming out of the dip and back on the road,” he said.
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