“He died last year on the 7th of February, 2021, leaving us all behind to miss him and forever look up to him. He was my father.”
With these touching words, Zareen Ali Desai concluded a tribute on social media to her father, the legendary tennis player who breathed his last a year ago on February 7, 2021, in Kolkata.
Watch the video below:
Recently, she also shared on Facebook how Republic Day reminded her of her father. “Papa always insisted we go for the Red Road parade. It was overwhelming and I remember squealing at firefighter bikes among other things. 26th January, Republic Day is my parents’ anniversary. This year, Mummy spent it without Papa. We spoke but I didn’t wish her because how is it a Happy Anniversary without your other half?”
Akhtar Ali served Indian tennis for over six decades. He made his mark on the tennis scene in 1955 when he became the National Junior Champion. The same year, he reached the semi finals of the Junior Wimbledon.
Late Akhtar Ali with wife Naheed and daughters Nilofer (left) and Zareen Zareen Ali Desai
The highlight of Akhtar Ali’s coaching career was when the Indian Team reached the finals of the Davis Cup in 1966. Again, in 1974, he guided the team to the finals. “Akhtar Sir”, as he was known in Kolkata, produced National Champions like Zeeshan Ali (his son), Enrico Piperno, Gaurav Misra, Bidyut Goswami and Susan Das. He worked as Vijay Amritraj’s personal coach during the latter’s prime year on the ATP circuit.
“I have been lucky in life to have had a father who supported and encouraged me to go all out and be myself, to explore what I love, to learn from my falls,” said Zareen, who runs Bagan Farm, a sustainable model for “living in and with nature”.
The 36-year-old has plans to put together her father’s story. “I have a project in mind and I hope to work on it soon,” she revealed to My Kolkata.