Indian origin tennis star Rajeev Ram says he is lucky to train with Williams sisters

Bengaluru, April 17: Indian tennis fraternity might not have forgotten Rajeev Ram, the tennis player of Indian origin from the USA who had won the silver medal in the mixed doubles at Rio Olympics 2016, partnering with Venus Williams.

But what had he gained even after winning a silver medal? In an e-mail reply, Rajeev revealed: “I have gained nothing except appreciations after achieving the silver medal in the Rio Olympics. This is USA where several legendary players have been born. So there is no question of getting felicitations or any applauds."

Rajeev has also informed, every year he along with his family come to India and stay for a couple of months.

He said: “We come to Bangalore every year as all of our relatives live in the city in spite of the fact that my parents Raghu and Sushma had left the city for Colorado in the early eighties.

"This apart, I have been coming to Chennai to take part in Chennai Open recently. But despite being an American citizen we have Indian food for lunch and dinner every day.

"We celebrate all Indian festivals like Holi and even organise Kali Puja at our place every year.

"I know how P V Sindhu and Dipa Karmakar have been poured gifts and money after their respective performances in the Rio Olympics.

"But here in the USA, I had only some verbal appreciations from the tennis fraternity as well as my close friends in Colorado."

But at the same time, Rajeev has mentioned that he is lucky to have legendary partners like Williams sisters.

He trains with Venus and Serena whenever the sisters stay in country and do pre-season training.

He mentioned: “I cannot speak about their personal life but on the court both of them are superb. They are so inspiring that I feel it has been a great achievement for me, receiving encouragement and advises from them during and after the practice."

OneIndia News