Sportsman Mahesh Bhupathi has ended many a tussle on the court with the drop shot. Now Bhupathi, the businessman, has to show the same finishing touch
Chances are you already know who Mahesh Bhupathi is. You’d have to be pretty daft not to have heard of him in a nation starved of heroes that neither play cricket nor act in Bollywood flicks. So, let’s hazard a guess around what you already know of Bhupathi. He plays lawn tennis; gave up on singles a long time ago; is a formidable competitor on the international circuit in doubles and mixed doubles; his best times were when he partnered with Leander Paes; on the outside, he’s got another two-three years to go before he gets off the ATP circuit.
Globosport signed Sania Mirza when she was 15. A year later she won the WTA tournament in Hyderabad. A corporate client wanted a film star to feature in one of their ads, Globosport went to Saif Ali Khan — then, a bit star who wasn’t being managed by anybody. A couple of months later, Dil Chahta Hai hit movie screens. “We got lucky,” says Bhupathi. “When you have two clients like that, doors open.”
(This story appears in the 25 September, 2009 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)