Bhupathi, Apollo Tyres tie up for 'Mission 2018'

NEW DELHI: Mahesh Bhupathi on Wednesday announced the hosting of an international event here this year as part of his tie-up with Apollo Tyres to unearth an Indian Grand Slam champion in 10 years' time.

The international event, featuring legendary players and to be held at the Delhi Gymkhana Club, would be the first of a series of initiatives the tennis star and the tyre manufacturer have conceived for their Rs 100-crore project, 'Mission 2018'.

"December is going to be special. The event will be on a unique format, seen not anywhere in the world," Bhupathi said at a press conference.

"It is not far fetched, to imagine an Indian with the Wimbledon trophy because there is no dearth of talent. The problem has been in translating it at the senior level.

"We have a great tradition of tennis but we did not have a system. In the case of Krishnans, it was in the family and in others like Sania and Leander they had the talent. But it was not because of the system."

"We want to put a system in place. So it is a dream come true for me. Work starts tomorrow, hopefully we can make this happen," Bhupathi said.

Neeraj Kanwar, Joint Managing Director and COO of Apollo Tyres, said his company was not new to promoting tennis in the country, having been associated with 13-year-old local lad Yuki Bhambri for more than a year now.

"We wanted professional guidance and so we signed Mahesh and his partner Radek Stepanek as our brand ambassadors," Kanwar said.

The project will see adoption of about 20 kids each year and provide them with training and playing experience.

The children, in the age group of 12-15, would train at the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy Elite in Bangalore.

"The set up is already in place and so we will use that. There will be visiting trainers, coaches and physios to instruct the kids," Bhupathi said.

Former Davis Cup player and captain Jaideep Mukherjee was also present at the function.