Not satisfied with Paris Olympics entry, Sriram Balaji determined to win medal

Professional tennis player Sriram Balaji has had an incredible journey in his career so far. The 34-year-old, hailing from Coimbatore, is now set to play in the Olympics. He will partner Grand Slam champion Rohan Bopanna in the men's doubles category in Paris.

Sriram Balaji has come quite a distance in his career. However, he is not complacent, not satisfied by just having the opportunity to don the Indian colors at the Olympics. He is determined to go the distance and bring home the coveted medal.

"Last year I played couple of Slams. I did have the game, but was not sharp enough. The last couple of months I have been playing much better tennis. Earlier I would question myself, now I believe in myself much more, my confidence level has gone up. Right now, I am not getting satisfied (with) just making the entry, I want to win the medal," he was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Sriram Balaji, currently ranked at a career-high 62 in doubles, said that playing in the Olympics had not been his goal only until recently. Rohan Bopanna suggested Balaji as his partner to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“It is truly dream come true for me, thanks to Bops (Bopanna). Yuki (Bhambri) is 10 spots ahead of me in rankings,” said Balaji.

“When I started, wanted to take it step by step. First the Under-14s (for India), then the Davis Cup. Olympics was not in my thoughts."

The first major step for Sriram Balaji came when he moved to Chennai at the age of 16, beginning under Hiten Joshi and Ilyas Hussain. Balaji was asked not to play the juniors, which led him to play the men's (circuit). He went on to earn his first ATP ranking point at 16.

Moving his base to Europe was his next big step, which helped him adapt quicker to the differences in culture and tennis.

“It was totally different. My ranking was 800 but I was not even getting into qualifying (of ITF men's events). That's how tough it was, the standard was very high. It took me one year (to start winning) ... I lost all my matches. I went there in 2010, it was only in 2011 summer that I started getting into qualifying and winning," he recalled.

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French Open played a key part in Sriram Balaji making it to the Olympics

This year's French Open played a major part in Sriram Balaji making the cut for the Paris Olympics 2024. Making the second round last year, he went a step ahead this time, partnering Mexican Miguel-Angel Reyes-Varela.

Coincidentally, they ended up losing to none other than Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden in the third round. However, it proved to be rewarding for the 34-year-old.

“I was not in the tournament to begin with, we were sixth out. Rohan also has been mentoring me, telling which tournaments I should be playing. This time I told him I want to come to Paris, it's ok if I miss a Challenger. I decided I was going to take my chances and signed in. The other thing is you also get to practise with the top players during the Grand Slam," he added.

Sriram Balaji went on to state that playing with Bopanna will not be an easy task. However, he feels that he should handle it well, playing with someone whom he looks up to and is like a mentor to him as well.