We have heard of many talented tennis players, successful commentators and mediapersons and also of philanthropists. India can boast of a man who is a combination of all these — Vijay Amritraj, a man who is not just the jack of all trades, but also the master of many.
So much has been written and said about Amritraj that one needs to highlight those aspects of his life that take him beyond just another 'celebrity with a foundation'. In sport, Amritraj has beaten the world's best in tennis, including Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, John Newcombe, Stan Smith, and has made a mark at the Wimbledon and US Open many a times.
His accomplishments outside tennis have been exemplary too - host for ESPN Star Sports, director of The Leela Group of Hotels in India, brand ambassador for Rolex and Jaguar Land Rover, United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2006, and founder of The Vijay Amritraj Foundation, an international charity serving the destitute of India.
Hollywood soon egged Amritraj to star in the James Bond film Octopussy with Roger Moore. He also starred in Star Trek IV with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. He has also appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show with Johny Carson and Good Morning America in the US, as well as Breakfast Time and Good Morning Britain in the UK.
BW Businessworld celebrates achievers and celebrities, talking about leadership and various other facets of life. Anurag Batra, Chairman of
BW Businessworld, explores more of the larger-than-life tennis legend Vijay Amritraj at BW Dialogue, in association with NewsX, at the Lodhi Hotel in New Delhi on Tuesday (April 11).
Edited excerpts:You have talked about the five D’s life: Desire, Discipline, Determination, Dedication and Divine Intervention, which you have always followed - a perfect formula which can lead a man to success. You won a lot of matches, the big wins weren’t easy but then you had always wanted to be a doctor but you ended up playing tennis. Please tell us about the divine intervention part in your life.I have been very fortunate that tennis has given me so much in life that maybe nothing else could ever have. Every time I won a tournament, some Indian would come and thank me. These were doctors and engineers. When I asked them why were they thanked me, they would reply that their boss had come down to speak with them after watching me play and got aware that his office too had an Indian! Things have changed considerably. You have so many Indians doing so well all over the world and they are all brand ambassadors of our country. So, we have really achieved global recognition as a country. I feel very blessed.
You taught us the ABC of tennis, you have played on so many different courts. What are the hallmarks of your career as you have been a anchor, an entrepreneur, an actor and a brand ambassador? What do you want to be associated with a few years from down the line? Tennis will always remain my first love. However, I always like challenging myself at work and learn new skills; people have different options but I think we have one life to experience it all. Every challenging task is a beautiful opportunity if you see it. I feel extremely fortunate to be associated with sports as it is one field that teaches you so many things you need to deal with off the court also.
As you are telling this to me, I am reminded of a match that you played in your school days against a player who was 19 years of age (a college boy and a very accomplished player), while you were merely 13 and you had actually lost the first two sets but finally won the third set. Even though your mother wanted to celebrate that small win, you didn’t feel it was worth a celebration. What is that one thing that you felt that day?Well, to be frank, I have always felt that the entire credit for my conscious thinking and inspiration has been my mother. My parents have always been very supportive of all my ventures. But, I derived this feeling to achieve big wins to make them proud and small wins or deterrents should not actually deviate the focus of a player from his or her goals.
You have lived almost all your life in the West, so I put forth this question to you about westerners, as the eastern way of life is gaining so much popularity, be it learning yoga, the science of Ayurveda, etc. What more can we do for India and building it in the minds of people living abroad? Look, it works both ways. We are trying to excel in sports, however, we have so much more already that we are good at. We Indians have so much to offer beyond sports, like our ethnicity, warmth and hospitable culture. We have the power to look beyond the obvious and our differences, languages and barriers of religions. We can make it a lot easier if we can put forth the flavours of India on international platforms and present it in a better manner. We can surely make a difference.
Irrespective of what we are and how we live, we represent a country all the time. Be it in New York, London or anywhere else, the image of our country really matters. I understand that we need to take the grassroot talent along with us, but what puts us on the wold map is our quest for excellence.
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Soumya is a young writer and journalist, with bachelors in Multimedia and Mass Communication. She is an alumini of the Asian College of Journalism, and finds politics and sustainability intriguing beats to work with.
