MELBOURNE – The unique ability of sport, and in particular tennis, to conquer political divides was on full display at the Australian Open Thursday as war-riven nations were united on court.
Less than 24 hours after a security alert over feared clashes between ethnic Serb and Croatian fans, Serbia’s Dusan Vemic and Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic teamed up for doubles.
On the court next door, another bitter rivalry was put aside, with India’s Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, the peace-seeking “Indo-Pak Express”, also in action. Qureshi and Bopanna rolled through in straight sets, winning 6-3, 6-0, but Karlovic and Vemic bowed out in three. Bopanna and Qureshi have been playing partners since 2007, using their matches as a platform to promote better relations between India and Pakistan, who have had three wars since the end of colonial rule.
Bopanna and Qureshi are acutely aware of the political sensitivities of their partnership, which is why they launched a sportswear line featuring the slogan “Stop War Start Tennis” at Wimbledon last year. The pair are also ambassadors for Peace and Sport, an organisation run by Prince Albert of Monaco. “It is a very good thing, that is the beauty of sports — culture, religion or politics don’t come into it,” Qureshi said. “That is the message we are trying to spread not only to Pakistanis and Indians, but all over the world. “There is no reason if we can get along well on and off the court, that other Pakistanis and Indians can’t.”
India-Pakistan border match gains support: Bopanna and Aisam Thursday urged their governments to allow a tennis match across their heavily fortified border, as support grows for the symbolic event.
Bopanna and Qureshi, who hope their doubles partnership can help their bitterly divided countries, said the initiative was now backed by the world tennis body and an international peace group. The pair are pushing for a match using a net strung across the famed Wagah border crossing, as part of their “Stop War Start Tennis” campaign. India and Pakistan have had three wars since the end of British colonial rule. Qureshi said the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had thrown its support behind the scheme, along with Peace and Sport, a non-governmental organisation run by Prince Albert of Monaco.
