SHILLONG, June 5: Tennis stalwart Jaidip Mukerjea who put India on the world map after winning many victories for India in the Davis Cup and is one of the famous threesome, besides Premjit Lal and Ramanathan Krishnan, released his book CrossCourt at a functioned organised by the members of the Meghalaya Tennis Association, at Hotel Centre Point’s Cloud Nine on Monday.
Accompanied by wife Sharmin Mukerjea who actually nudged him to write about what she calls his “romance with the Davis Cup, the romance of the game, the glamour on the court, the warmth of the limelight,” Jaidip actually a person of few words spoke with rare fervour about what the game meant to him. “Tennis has given me so much; I want to give back to the game whatever is possible from my side by way of mentoring younger players,” Mukerjea said.
Presiding as chief guest at the function, Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, Sanjib Banerjee said, “I salute a living legend and an institution who is still a sprightly 80-year-old.
Jaidip Mukerjea’s commitment to the game at a time when it was difficult to go abroad, play tournaments and find the money for that is commendable. Professional tennis in India began only in 1968, Justice Banerjee said.
Justice Banerjee listed the number of wins accomplished by Jaidip Mukerjea in India, Asia and abroad after he won the Men’s Singles Wimbledon in 1969.
“Jaidip’s contributions did not end with the famous doubles victory in the Davis Cup in 1966. He won the 1972 Asian Championship by beating Vijay Amritraj. After his retirement in 1974-75 Jaidip was one player who dedicated his entire life to the sport that gave him so much satisfaction and much pain too.” Justice Banerjee said, adding that Jaidip is a flag bearer on Indian sports who graduated from the field to being a coach and then ad administrator.
In 1966 Jaidip Mukerjea was awarded the Arjuna Award. He was also honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award by the Indian Tennis Federation.
Welcoming Jaidip to Shillong, Justice Banerjee said, “This is a very kind and wonderful place and we can only get better over here. There is a room for improvement but one also sees progress. He said the youth must be given opportunities to express themselves in real sports on the field instead of indulging in digital sports. The Meghalaya Football team was runners up in the Santosh Trophy. Can we ever imagine that?”
In the interaction with Jaidip Mukerjea, Editor of The Shillong Times, Patricia Mukhim asked the legend how he sees Shillong then on his first visit at age 21 and now, to which Mukerjea responded that he still loves the hill station but was somewhat disappointed at the fact that the game of tennis had not made much progress. Mukerjea spoke of the differences in the tennis courts in the west and those in India which he said hampered the game.
Responding to the question how he returned with greater fervour after he lost a game Jaidip said he was mentally trained not to accept defeat but to fight back harder. When a member of the audience asked if he would be willing to help promote the sport in Meghalaya, Jaidip said he would be happy to invest in building up tennis as a sport here. He also spoke about how the game has graduated from wooden racquets to steel ones and thereby made it easier for players to wield it.
Noted author and columnist, Sanjoy Hazarika who was also present at the book launch asked Jaidip Mukerjea what he felt about the current eco-system of sports in India where wrestlers have been protesting for several days on an issue. Jaidip said it was unfortunate that sportspersons were not given the respect they deserve for winning medals for the country.
Mukerjea also said that India should harness its efforts to promote the sports that its people excel in and not fritter away its resources trying to play and excel in every sport.
The Meghalaya Tennis Association also felicitated another octogenarian, noted surgeon Dr Werlok Kharshiing who has been an active tennis player and continues to play the game, age notwithstanding. Addressing the gathering, Dr Kharshiing encouraged the tennis players to continue to play the game and not be deterred by age.
Former DGP, Bijon Dey Sawian, the President of the Meghalaya Equestrian Federation and the person solely responsible for bringing Jaidip Mukerjea to Shillong for an Equestrian event currently being held in Shillong, was also felicitated.
It may be mentioned that Jaidip was one of the few Indians who had defeated tennis greats like John Newcombe, Roy Emerson, Fred Stolle and Arthur Ashe during his reign in the tennis courts.
