The Bhupathi-Paes Olympics showdown.
May 22
Is India going to get any olympic medals this year? First we have the hockey team scandal. Now these two are acting up. The 10 Grand Slam doubles winner pair - Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi - are having communication issues.
Bhupathi says that he is uncomfortable playing with Paes at the Olympics due to the communication gap that has come about between them. They have not been on talking terms for the past few months, and a cold war has erupted between them.
Bhupathi said that this lack of friendship might hinder their ability to get any medals at the Olympics. “It’s too late for Leander and me to play together” said Bhupathi. “Leander and I are the best option for India but we need to go with some kind of preparation. We need to build a team. However, Rohan Bopanna and I are better prepared as a team,” Bhupathi said.
However, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) has ruled out any changes in the team for the Beijing Olympics and said that it’s not up to Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi to decide who goes to the Olympics. Reacting to Bhupati’s letter, AITA said that the two players cannot allow their differences to come in between.
“AITA’s position is extremely clear. We have already nominated their names as a team on February 28,” Khanna said.
Indian Olympic Association General Secretary Randhir Singh said that Khanna spoke to him for a fortnight-long camp before the Olympics. “Anil Khanna spoke to me about a 15-day camp before the Olympics. There is nothing to be reinvented between them. They just need some practice together before the Games,” he said. “They are the best players. They have been the world number one. I request them to play their best for the country. I firmly believe they have a great chance to win a medal in Beijing,” he added.
Bhupathi may have closed the door on their partnership but Leander Paes hasn’t given up hope. Speaking exclusively to CNN-IBN, Leander urged Bhupathi to reconsider his decision not to pair up for the Beijing Olympics.
“I find that Mahesh and myself have lot of differences of opinions off the court but when it comes to on court there is no hiding the fact that we are the best team. I urge Mahesh to reconsider his decision that he has made and to put our differences aside,” he said.
“While people who don’t really understand tennis are willing to force us to play together to win a medal, you will agree that we are not magicians and a medal will not happen just because we step on court. I would prefer to play with Rohan Bopanna in Beijing, we do have a good relationship and we are planning to play a couple of events over the next few months.”
“Lot of this comes as real surprise be it the Olympics comes as a surprise, be it the Davis Cup comes as a surprise - I feel that eight years that we have put together won so many grand slams together, being number one together, its really sad that this is going on and its unfortunate,” Leander said.
Bopanna seems to be quite in demand for the Olympics. Let’s see how this materializes in the coming two months left for the Olympics. We sure hope Bhupathi can get some perspective and patch things up with Paes. The two of them are a terrific duo.
Stumble it!
May 23 at 07:32
Bhupathi is acting like a flowery retard. It is because of selfish players like him that our country is held back in sports.
edit: Please refrain from using abusive language - Admin
May 23 at 15:18
Mahesh is speaking his mind, as he has been for a long time now and there is nothing wrong in that. Tennis is as much an individual sport as it is a team sport. And Mahesh is not wrong in wanting to play with someone he shares a better relationship with. The AITA should have opened their ears to this much earlier.
it is easy to call ppl names, but it is not players that hold the country back, its the lack of understanding their opinions and views as well… is the AITA listening??