A paradigm shift in the perception of sport across all disciplines as something more than leisurely activity is needed to inspire change, said Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj at the Rising Bharat Summit 2025 in the national capital on Tuesday.
Amritraj, one of the finest tennis stars to have represented India, achieved a career-best singles ranking of 18 in 1980. During his playing career, he won 16 singles titles and 14 doubles titles.
But as of now, the growth of sports and sportspeople across disciplines seems to have come to a standstill, with Indian tennis especially lacking any major stars raising the bar for greatness.
When asked about the reasons behind the stagnated growth of sport in India, Amritraj expounded on how the image of sport as just leisurely or extra-curricular has set in a state of mind that discourages one from picking up and pursuing sport at the highest level in India.
“I think when you look at sports in India, it’s always been considered as just…sport. Something to do after tea, after you’re down with your homework,” Amritraj stated at the Rising Bharat Summit 2025.
“You have to entertain the possibility that sport can take you further in your life than you could possibly think. Nothing that I could have possibly done in my seven decades of being around could have provided me all that sport has.
“It has given me everything and more than I could have ever expected. It has taken me to places that I never thought I could go to, helped me meet people I could never fathom I would, and spent time in parts of the world I never thought I would be in. All while continuing to impose the importance of who we are and where we came from, upon those we meet. I think those are vital for one’s own growth.”
The legendary Indian tennis player though also expounded on the need for a support system across all sports in the nation as a major necessity for growth.
“Every sport is different in many ways. But, one thing that’s constant is the need for a support system. That’s number one,” Amritraj stated.
Yet a bigger obstacle in the eyes of Amritraj is the perception that sport can’t provide a livelihood, or potential future for sportsmen. He highlighted the need for the masses to start viewing success from different lenses and to take the leap of faith in order to achieve greatness in sport.
“Number two, it’s the fact that, in our sport of tennis, when there is a young family with two children, a boy and a girl, and you tell them to forget about education and to let them take up sport wholeheartedly, so they can represent our nation at the highest levels, how many parents are willing to take that chance? It’s a tough socio-cultural issue,” he added.
You’re better off going to school, then college, getting a job, making sure you’re financially secure, and then having a family. That’s the idea of growth, isn’t it?
“No pain no gain. If you don’t ever take a chance, you’re not going to have choices. So, you’re going to have to focus on the fact that if you are going to get to the top of a particular sport, the world is open to you,” Amritraj expounded.
