Jasmine Paolini of Italy plays a forehand against Donna Vekic of Croatia during their Women’s Singles semifinal match on day eleven of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Photo Credit: Getty Images
Amazing forehand And Crispy Serve (ACE) has added a new flavour to this Wimbledon season. While tennis fans across the world are eagerly waiting for the live telecast of the women’s and men’s final championship matches on July 13 and 14, Indians are also set to enjoy the action on the Centre Court in Hindi.
Hindi Taste
Zeeshan Ali | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Wimbledon 2024 got a fresh start on July 1, when broadcaster Star Sports Network tied up with All India English Club to launch Hindi commentary on its Star Sports 1 Hindi channel. Live broadcasts by former Davis Cup player and current national and Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali, sports commentator Raman Bhanot and host Suren Sundaram (Star Sports Network) brought the match alive for Hindi-speaking tennis fans. While a thirty-minute show by Raman and Suren airs highlights at 10 am daily on the channel, live commentary of matches was initially scheduled for only two days (July 1 and 2). Buoyed by the response, the network now plans to bring back the trio for the finals.
Enjoyable experience
Commentating in Hindi was a different but enjoyable experience, says Zeeshan, who has previously commented in English for Star Sports at Wimbledon in 2014 and 2015. Communicating with the production team about what was required for the broadcast made it easier.
The singles match between India’s Sumit Nagal and Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic, Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) vs Dusam Lajovic (Serbia) and Carlos Alcaraz vs Marc Lazzale were among the matches covered by the team. Though the technical terminology remains unchanged, the commentary in colloquial Hindi makes it easier to understand. “Like cricket, tennis too has terms specific to the game that cannot be changed no matter which language we speak,” says Zeeshan, giving examples of terms like forehand, backhand, overhead, volley and serve.
content creation
Raman Bhanot | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Live broadcasts have their own challenges in terms of unexpected moments. Commentators must be prepared with a backstory to explain such incidents. Raman recently spoke about a light-hearted moment shared between Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe on the grass court in the highlights show. “People who watch tennis and listen to English commentary know the story behind certain incidents. But Hindi commentators need to create content for Hindi audiences and explain the story behind their funny exchanges.”
Being short, concise and to the point are key points of tennis commentary. From keeping the match moving to not talking during rallies, the commentator must speak quickly and concisely as soon as a point is over, as the chair umpire can announce the score or a fault.
Zeeshan says, “Hindi commentary is a welcome move that helps the sport; it makes the sport accessible to more people, breaking down the language barriers.”
Finally, when you watch your favourite tennis star running his opponent from end to end on the baseline and then hitting a drop shot, you can hear Raman say, ‘‘I got the whole court measured’!
