Naresh Kumar India's former Davis Cup captain passed away at the age of 93. Kumar who famously mentored Leander Paes is survived by his wife and three children.
"He was suffering from age-related issues since last week. I was told that his chance of survival was not very good. I've lost a great mentor," Jaidip Mukerjea, who made his Davis Cup debut under Kumar's captaincy, said.
Born on December 22, Kumar began his journey with tennis at the Asian Championships in 1949 before ruling Indian tennis along with Ramanathan Krishnan for close to a decade in the 1950s.
His Davis Cup journey started in 1952 and went on to captain the side.
Three years later his biggest career high came when he made the fourth round of Wimbledon in 1955 before losing to the eventual champion and American No. 1 Tony Trabert.
Kumar has played a record number of 101 Wimbledon matches.
Following is the list of singles title won by Naresh Kumar:
- Irish Championships (1952 and 1953)
- Welsh Championships (1952)
- Essex Championships at Frinton-on-Sea (1957)
- Wengen tournament in Switzerland (1957)
He played his final tournament at the Asian Championships in 1969.
In 1990, Kumar as a non-playing Indian captain played a key role in including a 16-year-old Leander Paes in the Davis Cup team in their match against Japan and the rest, as they say, is history.
A recipient of Arjuna Award, Naresh Kumar became the first tennis coach to receive Dronacharya Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
"The best teachers teach from the heart and not from the book — Sir Naresh Kumar was my first Davis Cup captain and his wisdom has been the beacon of light in my journey," Paes had said after his 'Uncle Naresh' got the Dronacharya.
"A guru, a mentor, and a confidante, he gave me the wings to fly and stoked my passion to play for our country. I have come a long way in 30 years yet what my Guru, Naresh Kumar taught me has stayed with me through my journey.
"I am fortunate to witness him getting the Lifetime Dronacharya Award for his contribution to India."
Mukerjea recalled how he started his tennis career looking up to him at the Calcutta South Club.
"He was already a top player when I started playing tennis at the age of 12-13. Premjjit Lal and I looked up to Naresh in our formative years."
"Whenever we came back from Tours, he has helped us a lot in our formative years. I made my debut under him against Thailand in 1960.
"It was Naresh and myself as (Ramanathan) Krishnan was down with chicken pox. He helped me a lot with my game. Later on, we became very good friends."
A true gentleman to the core and always neatly dressed, Naresh Kumar was also a well-known sports commentator-cum-columnist, successful businessman, tropical aquarium fish breeder, art collector, and horse racing aficionado.
(Inputs from PTI)
