Two of India's leading sportspersons, Anju Bobby George and Mahesh Bhupathi, arrived in Hyderabad on Sunday to add some much-needed glamour to the Afro-Asian Games. Both said it was an honour to compete in the Games and they would put up the best effort.
"It is an honour competing for the country in front of your own people," said Anju, who won a bronze at the Paris World Championship.
Anju, who has been out of the country participating in the Grand Prix Meets and the World Championship, expressed surprise that many top Indians sportspersons were not participating in the Games. "I wish Malleswari was taking part after all it is her own state and people would have loved to see her in action," she said.
Anju is accompanied by her coach and husband Bobby George. She said "a player should always keep in mind the sentiments of the sport-loving people of the country who raise you to the highest status. It is our duty to give it back to them by competing in as many competitions as possible at home."
Both Anju and Bobby looked tired, as they had to wait for one hour at the Bangalore Airport to catch the delayed connection to the Trivendrum-Bangalore flight. "But I am sure this will not make a difference to my performance as I am charged up for the Afro-Asian Games,"Anju said.
Anju, a gold medallist of the Busan Asian Games and a bronze medallist of the Commonwealth Games at Manchester will be in action on October 29.
Like Anju, Bhupathi also looked confident and said he would go all out.
"Playing in the Afro-Asian Games was not an easy choice as it was the end of the season of the ATP tour," said the first Indian to win a Grand Slam title.
"But, when the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N Chandrababu Naidu called me up, I thought that I should come and play," said Bhupathi, who with Leander Paes ranked as the world number one pair before they went their separate ways.
Bhupathi, currently ranked number two in men's doubles, said "After all, Mr Naidu is doing so much for the development of sports in Andhra Pradesh. So, I decided to play in the Afro-Asian Games.
Bhupathi said he would be playing Doubles and Mixed Doubles. In the Doubles he could be partnered by Rohan Bopanna or Prakash Amritraj and in the Mixed Doubles, his partner will be reigning Wimbledon Girls Doubles title holder Sania Mirza who also happens to be a local girl.
The Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles begin on October 28 at the Lalbahadur Shasstri Stadium at the quarter-final stage.
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