Earlier this week, the Tamil Nadu government honoured Indian Tennis great Vijay Amritraj by naming the North stand of the main court at the SDAT Stadium in Nungambakkam after him.
Now, Karti P Chidambaram, a member of the Lok Sabha, has called for the state government to bestow tennis legend Ramanathan Krishnan with a ‘suitable honor.’
In a letter to the Deputy Chief Minister, Thiru Udhayanidi Stalin, Chidambaram stated that naming a stand after Vijay Amritaj was a ‘fitting tribute to his contributions’.
Having said that, he wished for the government to honor the legendary Ramanathan Krishnan as well.
“I hope the State Government will suitably honor Ramanathan Krishan, the esteemed doyen of tennis in India, who is also from our state and a source of pride for us,” his statement read.
Karti P Chidambaram’s letter to the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
A former World No.3
As a 16-year old Ramanathan Krishan made it to the boys singles finals of the Wimbledon championships in 1953, finishing second best.
The following year, he scaled the summit, becoming the first Asian player to win the boys’ singles title at Wimbledon.
Aged 23, Krishnan made it to the semi-finals of the Wimbledon and repeated the feat the following year, a mention of which Chidambaram makes in his letter.
“Krishan remains the only Indian to reach the semifinals in the singles category of any grand slam title.”
No Indian has since made a run as deep at the most prestigious championships in the sport.
At the peak of his prowess, Krishan was ranked as high as World No. 3 on the Potter’s amateur rankings.