Rohan Bopanna had created a stir in India following his Australian Open doubles glory last weekend.

If truth be told, for many it was hard to believe that it was Bopanna’s first doubles grand slam win. Bopanna turned pro way back in 2003. Doubles and mixed doubles are the only categories where Indians have done well in the last couple of decades with Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza racking up one important trophy after another.

It was hard to believe that in India’s golden period, Bopanna couldn’t somehow be part of any grand slam-winning doubles team, be it with an Indian or non-Indian partner. Although, he has won the French Open in mixed doubles in 2017.

Anyway, the Indian, in the company of Aussie Matthew Ebden, won his first doubles grand slam at the 2024 Australian Open at the age of 43 years and 329 days. He won his first doubles grand slam in his 61st attempt. He also became the oldest man to win a doubles grand slam. For a country whose performances in team events have debilitated in recent years since the retirement of the famous trio, it was a big deal. Indian fans as well as the media rejoiced in Bopanna’s triumph like there was no tomorrow.

In singles, India is kind of at its worst at present. Even reaching the second round of a grand slam is a big deal like Sumit Nagal’s performance at the Happy Slam. So it’s totally understandable why everyone was united in celebrating Bopanna’s exploits. But the fact of the matter is Indian tennis is going through a terrible phase which can be understood through the Paris Olympics, to be held in July-August later this year.

As of now, there is only one category in which the Indians are assured of participation. That’s men’s doubles where Bopanna needs to choose his partner post the French Open. “Definitely, it’s going to be great that we have a representation in the men’s doubles. Who I’m going to play with is yet to be confirmed. June is the deadline, so I need to pick a partner. Mixed doubles will not happen because there is no girl ranked high enough to qualify. The only event currently guaranteed is men’s doubles,” Bopanna said after winning the Australian Open.

It’s a sad state of affairs. In the top 200 of the WTA doubles ranking, there is just one Indian, Prarthana Thombare. She is 183rd at present.

One can only feel bad for Bopanna. It’s not easy to motivate oneself in such a grim, infertile atmosphere. So kudos to him for keeping himself motivated and delivering noteworthy performances. Since joining hands with Ebden at the start of 2023, Bopanna has been in the thick of things. He has become the oldest Masters champion, has played the doubles final at the US Open, has been a doubles semi-finalist at Wimbledon, of course now the oldest male winner at a grand slam in the Open era, and last but not least the oldest to win a match at the ATP Finals.

One hopes he goes on strong and keeps up the good work at the Olympics. To date, India has won just one Olympic medal in tennis thanks to Paes at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where he won a singles bronze. It’s extremely surprising and depressing that even through its golden period of doubles and mixed doubles triumphs, India failed to win another medal in tennis.

But all that can change at the Paris Olympics, provided Bopanna has the right partner who can bring passion and talent to the table. Yuki Bhambri, N Sriram Balaji, Vijay Sundar Prashanth, Anirudh Chandrasekar all are in the fray to partner Bopanna. All are in the top-100 in the doubles rankings. Bhambri, however, appears to have an edge on account of his vast experience. His current doubles ranking of 60th is the best among the four contenders.

It may be expecting too much that Bopanna and his future partner will win a medal in the Olympics but then extraordinary things keep happening in sports. If there is one thing that should give Indian fans some hope, it should be the fact that Bopanna looks and sounds extremely motivated to win big in the twilight of his career. An Olympic medal can certainly make up for so many of his misses in the past.