Bopanna-Qureshi express is back on track

By Shamya Dasgupta

It was a pairing made for the headlines, a young Indian and a young Pakistani playing together and, quite apart from the novelty value, doing well.

‘Stop War, Start Tennis’ – their campaign – even earned them the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for 2011, but that same year, the duo— Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi — split up. It was a pity. More so because they had no problem with each other; other people had problems with other.

The issue was the 2012 London Olympics and at its core, the problem was between Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. Bopanna joined hands with Bhupathi in his preparations for the Olympics. Qureshi stepped back; what choice did he have anyway? But now Bopanna is back with Qureshi. And that’s awesome news. For how long though, and to what end?

Both men are 33 now. Bopanna is ranked No. 13 in the doubles world, and Qureshi is at No. 15in the last update. They were both late bloomers and came into their own only in each other’s company –in 2007.

And just before they separated, they had reached the 2010 US Open final, and in 2011, won the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Paris and made the ATP World Tour finals in London. They were, clearly, at their best, or getting there. Seeing that they haven’t slipped much in the rankings, it would only be fair to assume that they can still do some good things together.

But the question is whether the 2011 split might repeat itself come 2015. Bhupathi is still there and thereabouts, but not the force he once was. But Paes is still up there, ranked No. 10 in the world, and has confirmed that he is aiming sharp for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Keeping that in mind, and keeping in mind the fact that a pair should play together for at least a year before taking part in a major competition, the life of the New Indo-Pak Express looks set to be just a year and a half, destined to last only till the middle of 2015.

That would be terrible, both for the pairing and for ‘Stop War, Start Tennis.’ But then again, considering the value of an Olympic Games medal, forget Paes, can Bopanna chuck up the opportunity either if it comes calling, at Qureshi’s expense if necessary?

Shamya Dasgupta is Senior Editor, Wisden India.