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Mumbai: Indian tennis legend, 12-time Doubles Grand Slam champion Leander Paes, hosts our Indian special from Chennai. Chennai is heralded as the birthplace of Indian tennis, with the top Indian tennis families the Krishnans and the Armitrajs having been born here and the city hosts the only professional event in South Asia.
In this month?s show, we interview all the big names within Indian tennis. We profile the most successful Indian woman tennis player in history, Sania Mirza. CNN correspondent Mallika Kapur interviews Sania in Mumbai.
Leander takes us to Marina Beach where he used to train, growing up within the Britannia Amritraj Foundation. Here he interviews Vijay Amritraj about his family?s contribution to Indian tennis and his earliest memories of Leander as a young player coming through his academy. Leander then interviews the so-called ?Kings of Indian Tennis?, Ramanathan and his son Ramesh Krishnan, Leander asks them about their family legacy in the game. Ramanathan came closest to winning India?s first singles Grand Slam singles title back in 1960 and 1961, making the semi-final of Wimbledon twice and reaching World Number 3. Leander asks them both why India has never produced a singles grand slam champion. Ramanathan cuts straight to it, saying that kids aren?t trained hard enough from an early age, lack the physicality and mental strength. We visit one of the biggest academies in South India; the Triangle Tennis Trust to see what physical training takes place at grassroots level & Leander interviews one of the most promising players in the Indian game, Vishnu Vardhan, about the obstacles he?s faced coming through the system.
And finally, Leander takes India?s top player Somdev Devvarmann silk shopping and chats to him about his time training in the States and his hopes for his career.
Airtimes:
Thursday, February 23 at 1600
Friday, February 24 at 2300
Saturday, February 25 at 1400
Sunday, February 26 at 2300
Sunday, March 25 at 1400
*Airtimes are subject to change.
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