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| Sunday, 21 December 2003 |
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Indian coach Pepino to bring Sri Lanka to the top in tennis by LAL GUNESEKERA I love a challenge and will make every effort to get Sri Lanka promoted to Group III of the Davis Cup (Asia/Oceania Zone) commented the renowned Indian tennis coach, Enrice Pepino, who was the coach of former Wimbledon, French Open and US Open doubles champions, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bupathy.
Pepino, who is in Sri Lanka for a period of four months at the invitation of Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) President, Suresh Subramaniam, said that it's a honour to be in Sri Lanka to assist the Lankans in their Davis Cup ambitions. He said: "I met Subramaniam at the last Afro-Asian Games and was surprised that Sri Lanka were in Group IV of Davis Cup. I indicated that I was willing to help them gain promotion, and here am I." Pepino, who has Italian blood and is based in Kolkatta, said that he had a special relationship with Sri Lanka since he won the national doubles title with Lasantha Fernando in 1978 when he was only 15 years. Fernando is now Sri Lanka's non-playing captain. He said that he was a big believer in the Davis Cup which is the biggest team event in the world and a player should be honoured to represent his country. He further said that he has found the Sri Lankans "quite talented" in the few days he has been with them, but it's difficult to assess them so soon. He said that he will have to work on their fitness and "thinking game" and believes in tournaments rather than practice, which is totally a different ball game altogether. For this purpose, the SLTA, has arranged for some players to play in about six to eight tournaments during January-April in India, Bangladesh and Indonesia before the Davis Cup starts in Jordan on April 5. Pepino took to coaching in 1990 and was India's Davis Cup coach from 1991 to 2000, during which period India had a string of successes, including wins over France, South Africa and Britain and figured in the World Group for eight years. He has also worked with India's Federation Cup teams. He coached Bupathy from 1996 to 2003 when he won seven Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles. Pepino, won the Asian Junior singles title in 1977 and a silver medal in singles at the 1982 Asian Games. He was India's No. 1 for five years in the 1980's, six times National Hard Court Champion and has won over 100 titles in India. He represented his country in the Davis Cup from 1984 to 1986. Sri Lanka will be playing in the Davis Cup (Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV) in Jordan from April 5 to 11 next year (2004) where 11 countries compete for two places in Group III next year. The 11 nations are Kyrgyzsatan UAE, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bangladesh, Brunei, Turkminstan, Iraq and Jordan. |
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