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Naresh Kumar, Former Indian Davis Cup Captain and ‘Mentor’ of Leander Paes, Has Passed


Naresh Kumar, who once coached a young Leander Paes as India’s Davis Cup captain, has passed away. He was 93 years old. He is survived by his wife Sunita, son Arjun and two daughters – Gita and Preah. “He’s been suffering from age-related problems since last week. I was told his chances of survival were not very good. I’ve lost a great mentor,” said Jaidip Mukerjea, who died. Davis Cup eye under the captain’s armband of Kumar, said. PTI.

Born on December 22, 1928 in Lahore, in undivided India, Kumar began his tennis journey at the 1949 Asian Championships before dominating Indian tennis alongside Ramanathan Krishnan for almost a decade. in the 1950s.

His Davis Cup journey began in 1952 and went on to captain the team.

Three years later, the biggest peak of his career came when he reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 1955 before losing to eventual champion and American number one Tony Trabert.

As an amateur tennis player, Naresh Kumar has played a record 101 Wimbledon matches.

He won five singles titles in his career – Irish Champion (1952 and 1953), Welsh Champion (1952), Essex Champion at Frinton-on-Sea (1957) and title at Wengen in Switzerland next year.

He played his last tournament at the Asian Championships in 1969.

In 1990, Kumar, as a non-competitive India captain, played a key role in getting 16-year-old Leander Paes into the Davis Cup team against Japan and the rest, as they say, was history.

Naresh Kumar, dressed in white trousers and a t-shirt, was a mellow influencer during some of the great Davis Cup years.

An emotional Kumar heads to Leander Paes to hug him after his iconic fifth rubber win over France in the Davis Cup quarter-final in Frejus (France) while Atul Premanarayan calls the moment for Doordarshan, which will remain is an unforgettable memory for all tennis lovers.

Arjuna Award recipient, Naresh Kumar became the first tennis coach to receive the Dronacharya Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.

“The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book – Sir Naresh Kumar was my first Davis Cup captain and his mind was a beacon in my journey,” Paes said after His ‘Uncle Naresh’ got Dronacharya.

“A guru, mentor and soulmate, he gave me wings to fly and instilled my passion to play for our country. I’ve come a long way in 30 years. years but what my Guru, Naresh Kumar taught me has stayed with me in my journey.

“I am so fortunate to have witnessed him receive the Lifetime Dronacharya Award for his contributions to India.” Mukerjea recalls how he started his tennis career looking to him at the Southern Calcutta Club.

“He was already a top player when I started playing tennis at the age of 12-13. Premjjit Lal and I admired Naresh during our formative years.” “Whenever we came back from Tours, he helped us a lot during our founding years. I made my debut against him against Thailand in 1960.

“It was Naresh and myself like (Ramanathan) Krishnan who had chickenpox. He helped me a lot in my game. We became very good friends later on.” A true and well-dressed gentleman, Naresh Kumar is also a renowned sports commentator and columnist, successful businessman, tropical aquarist, art collector, horse racing enthusiast.

He is also very close to Tata Steel’s former chairman and chief executive officer Russi Mody, who passed away in 2014.

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“In addition to being a tennis player, he was also a writer, a tennis commentator very well before TV,” recalls Mukerjea.

“I remember very well, he wasn’t on the team in 1956 when India played Australia in the Davis Cup final in Melbourne. He was commenting in Hindi and English,” he added.

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