Olympics calling

His aces have the power of 150 mm howitzers. And when it begins firing on all cylinders, the rivals will only get a taste of what getting pulverised means. No wonder, tennis player Rohan Bopanna is known by the nickname ‘Bofors’.

“I spare no mercy for my rivals on the court. My serves are hard and the opponent is nothing but a sitting duck waiting to be destroyed,” Rohan told Metrolife. From wielding the racquet when he was barely 11 years old, Rohan has come a long way. He has played at the Asian Games and won the Davis Cup. His goal is to play at the Olympics 2012. “I am hoping to get a ranking that’s high enough to make a pitch at the Olympics,” he says. So how is he bracing up for the big ace? “I am working towards keeping healthy, fit and in good condition.”

Having traversed more than 45 countries, Rohan says he considers himself lucky to have been exposed to the outside world at such a young age. Does he regret having missed regular schooling and of course college? “Not at all. You have to give up something in order to gain something. I have travelled the world as a child, what more can I ask for?” he reasons.

Having been brought up on Indian spices, Rohan says while he feasts on his meat pastas and food that are high on carbs, he misses Indian food and wouldn’t miss a chance to hop in and satiate his yearning for Indian food. “Sportspersons can never really diet but I make sure that I stay away from rich and fatty food. I eat everything in limited quantities. When you are staying out of home and eating three meals out everyday, it’s better to restrict,” he explains.

So what does Rohan do when he’s not on the tennis court? “I simply love Hindi movies. The comedy and the masala simply excite me. It’s a great stress buster,” he says. Rohan has grown up here in the City where his circle of friends are those who’ve been his close pals from his childhood. “When I am in Bangalore I hang out at Cirrus in Indiranagar and talk about everything except tennis,” he says.

Commenting on the tennis scene in the country, Rohan observes, “The game has come a long way from when I had started. It commands more attention today,” he says. For aspiring tennis players, he says, “If you’ve decided tennis is your calling then go out there and go after it with single-minded devotion and put in your 100 per cent.”