Tennis legend hails Jaya’s contribution to promoting sport in Tamil Nadu

Chennai:

Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj has hailed Chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s contribution of promoting sport in the state

Amritraj, who was in the city to attend sixth edition of TiEcon 2013, in an interview to Express hailed the way the championship was hosted and said that if one goes with any proposal of any game, the chief minister is the best candidate to do it in India.

“There is something great about Tamil Nadu chief minister. She likes sport a lot and would do anything to promote it. She is the one responsible for Chennai Open happening in the state and also hosting the FIDE World Championship Match 2013 in Chennai,” Amritraj said while wishing Chess legend Vishwanathan Anand the luck to win against challenger Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

Recalling how his brother Anand Amritraj used to play chess with Vishwanathan Anand when he was small, he said,  “that the whole family had played chess but it was Anand Amritraja who had an opportunity to play with Vishwanthan Anand. We all knew Vishwanathan Anand was going to be a terrific player.”

The Loyola college graduate said that Chennai has underwent lot of changes and it is good but he misses the quite old city what Chennai used to be. The tennis star who used to fly kites in Nungambakkam during his childhood days still misses those moments.

India sporting arena has undergone a change in the last 35 years but it is at a slow pace, said Vijay while stating that it is India’s traditional and conservative mindset of never to take a chance. “We always want a safety net for our children. We as a parent want to encourage in whatever our children believe but as an Indian we want a safety net to it,” said the tennis legend.

Earlier addressing the delegates at the conference he urged the netreprenuers to think big. “Every challenge is an opportunity and pressure is a privelege,” he said. “Not all of us put in a situation trying desperately to do the impossible,” Amritraj said while talking about his exploits against Argentina, where India took back the game from the jaws of defeat to reach Davis Cup finals.