Former Indian tennis stalwart Naresh Kumar died in Kolkata on Wednesday, aged 93.
Kumar played during the 1950s and had reached the Wimbledon singles fourth round in 1955, losing to top seed and eventual champion Tony Trabert of the United States. He’s also a three-time men’s doubles, and 1957 mixed doubles quarterfinalist at Wimbledon.
Just had the privilege of saying a final goodbye to an Indian sporting great, a fine gentleman, a true ambassador of #Kolkata and Bengal.
— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) September 14, 2022
Naresh Kumar (seen in pic with a galaxy of Indian #Tennis stars who worshipped him)
Condolences to his family and admirers. pic.twitter.com/BjgP5DkBzJ
Naresh Kumar who passed on today, played at Wimbledon for an incredible two decades,, being a part of a staggering 101 matches across formats.” #RIP One of the nicest men in #IndianTennis. Thank you for the precious memories and amazing stories while I wrote #AdvantageIndia. pic.twitter.com/jmPo8pBEWV
— Anindya Dutta 🇮🇳 (@Cric_Writer) September 14, 2022
He played his last competitive match – according to his ATP profile – in the first round at Wimbledon in 1963.
In Davis Cup, he played 17 ties for India across eight years, and later became the non-playing captain that handed the then 16-year-old Leander Paes his debut in the competition in an April 1990 tie against Japan.
Till date, Kumar is the only tennis coach to have been awarded the Dronacharya Award, when he won the accolade for lifetime achievement in 2020. He was also the second lawn tennis player, after Ramanathan Krishnan, to win the Arjuna Award, in 1962.