Premjit Lall (20 October 1940 – 31 December 2008) was an Indian professional
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player from
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
, who was active during the 1960s and 70s.
Tennis career
Lall started his tennis career on the
grass court
A grass court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Grass courts are made of grasses in different compositions depending on the tournament.
While grass courts are more tra ...
s of the Calcutta South Club where he was coached by
Dilip Bose.
Together with
Jaidip Mukerjea and
Ramanathan Krishnan
Ramanathan Krishnan (born 11 April 1937) is a retired tennis player from India who was among the world's leading players in the 1950s and 1960s. He was twice a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 1960 and 1961, reaching as high as World No. 3 in Pot ...
they were called the Three Musketeers of Indian tennis.
Lall was a runner-up at the Boyss Singles event at the
1958 Wimbledon Championships, losing the final to
Butch Buchholz
Earl Henry "Butch" Buchholz, Jr. (born September 16, 1940) is a former professional tennis player from the United States who was one of the game's top players in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Tennis career
Juniors
Buchholz was an outstanding ...
. At the
1969 Wimbledon Championships Lall nearly caused a significant upset when he was leading first-seeded and world No. 1
Rod Laver
Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Laver was ranked as the World number 1 ranked male tennis players, world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969, ...
by two sets to love in the second round but ultimately lost in five sets to Laver, who went on to win the title and his second
Grand Slam.
Lall competed in 18 editions of the Wimbledon Championships between 1957 and 1975. In 1973 he won the
Stourbridge Open at Stourbridge, England against French player
Daniel Contet.
He played on the
Indian Davis Cup team from
1959
Events
January
* January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
until
1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
, competing in 41 ties and compiling a record of 52 wins and 32 losses. He was part of the team that reached the challenge round in
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
against Australia but did not play in the challenge round.
In doubles, he reached the quarterfinals at the
1962 Australian Championships and the
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
and
1973 Wimbledon Championships
The 1973 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was scheduled to be held from Monday 25 June ...
, all with compatriot
Jaidip Mukerjea.
Lall won the singles title at the
Indian International Championships in 1961 and 1970 defeating
Carlos Fernandes and
Alex Metreveli
Alexander Irakliyevich Metreveli ( ka, ალექსანდრე მეტრეველი, tr, ; ; born 2 November 1944) is a retired Soviet tennis player of Georgian background. Personal info
Metreveli is an honorary citizen of Aust ...
in the respective finals.
Lall was given India's top sports honor, the
Arjuna Award
The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...
in 1967. Lall played his final professional match in 1979.
Personal life
Lall was married twice and had two sons and one daughter.
Following a
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
in 1992, Lall began using a wheelchair and had difficulty speaking.
He died at his residence in
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
on 31 December 2008 after a prolonged illness, and was cremated at
Tollygunge
Tollygunge (; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is known for being the center of Indian Bengali-language cinema, with filming locations used for other regional Indian films.
G ...
.
In 2016, an invitation tournament named after him, was held in Kolkata in his memory.
References
Further reading
* Down the Line By Georgina and Premjit Published by Rupa & Co.
External links
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lall, Premjit
1940 births
2008 deaths
Indian male tennis players
Tennis players from Kolkata
Recipients of the Arjuna Award