The crisis, which has rocked the Indian tennis deepened on Monday with Rohan Bopanna officially snubbing All India Tennis Association’s (AITA) offer to pair with Leander Paes for the men’s doubles event of the London Olympics.
After Bhupathi’s stubborn refusal to team up with Paes, Bopanna’s stand has put AITA in a fix after it made the controversial decision to nominate Paes–Bhupathi for the Games next month.
Bopanna wrote to AITA on Monday morning, making it clear that he cannot combine with Paes although it is his dream to represent India in Olympics.
Bopanna said he was approached by the AITA with a request to pair with Paes as the AITA’s ‘second choice’ team.
“With all respect and humility, I have been unable to accept AITA’s offer and have communicated my decision to them in writing this morning,” Bopanna said in a statement.
Bopanna said the very basis of his forming a team with Bhupathi was to play in Olympics together and the tennis body not only knew about it, but encouraged them.
The big-serving player said that he and Paes do not make a good pair and their partnership is unlikely to yield any result.
“Since the beginning of the year, I have partnered with Mahesh Bhupathi towards playing together as a team at the Olympics. This was communicated to the AITA at every step and we were encouraged to continue to play together.
“Having played alongside Leander Paes only twice during my career, I recognise that as a team we are under-prepared for the demands of the Olympics and, in good faith, I could not accept AITA’s offer that we play together.”
Bopanna conceded that his decision would not go down well with many but he won’t risk his professional integrity for a shot at the Olympics.
“I understand that many might find this decision difficult to comprehend. However, my professional integrity will not permit me to make this compromise. I owe this to the partners I have played with in the past, Mahesh Bhupathi, who I currently play with and those I will partner in the future. I will still be able to look each of them in the eye,” Bopanna said.
“I believe we are nothing but the product of our choices,” he said.
Taking a dig a Paes, who broke his partnership with Bhupathi last year to stay inside ATP top-10 with a different partner, Bopanna said he also could have taken an easy route by continuing his team with Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi but did not do that.
“In October 2011, I broke up an extremely successful partnership with Aisam Qureshi, as I believed that Olympics preparedness required hard work and understanding between partners and the numerous little adjustments that make a team work.
“This was the toughest professional decision I have taken, as it signified an end to a great partnership and jeopardised a close friendship that was built over many years of struggle and, ultimately, success on the ATP Tour.”
“Having been ranked No. 8 in the world last year, I could have taken a far easier route to Olympics qualification — if that was my only goal — by continuing my existing partnership and aiming for a personal top-10 ranking.
“However, I am an athlete who believes that outcomes are a product of process and preparation. I also believe that successful partnerships of every sort require investment of time and emotions through the ups and downs, and that sporting partnerships are no different,” he said.
Keywords: Rohan Bopanna, AITA, Leander Paes, 2012 London Olympics
Partnership for a game is entirely a matter for the individuals,who feel comfortable with other, for best effort and output; one cannot force decision on this - sad trend indeed in sports body who fail to think on sound terms; hope they will understand !
These are difficult decisions to make. Doubles is all about team work and players have to learn to be engaged, physically and emotionally for the partnership to endure and produce good results. As it appears there does not seem to be any room for reconciliation between Paes and Bhupati and Bhupati and Bopanna have already been playing together for a while this year, i would hope Leander would be willing to step down and make way for Bhupati and Bopanna to represent India in the olympics.
Leander has been a great player and has rendered immense service to our country over the years but what does one do when irreconciliable differences emerge in pairing doubles partners. It has got to be a very difficult situation for Leander to see all the barbs going across the fence on this issue
There was a time when I used to get goose bumps just seeing Paes on
court. I recently saw him at Melbourne when he was practicing with
Stephanek at a side court. But the recent turn of events, and Paes'
letter to the AITA wishing to team with Bopanna despite the latter
stating he preferred Bhupathi, makes me feel that he is selfish in his
pursuits. I don't see the point in Paes wanting to team with two
persons who do not want to team with him. What camaraderie, team
spirit or bonding is he going to build with the two who do not want to
have any truck with him?
I am with Bopanna, he is right. C'mon Paes now is the time for you to
show your patriatism off the court, pull out from the doubles team and
let Mahesh&Boppanna do it for the country.
Both the AITA and the players have to be blamed for this shameful
developments. Partnering someone on the Pro circuit is different and
players, in my personal opinion, do no have a right to choose their
partners while representing the country (unless the Indian setup
allows it). By openly defying/making statements, the players have not
only let themselves down but also the Indian Tennis. Refusing to
partner with some one is disappointing. Players must put aside their
personal differences and play for the country. Pairing Bopanna and
Mahesh sets a precedent and would send a message to future players
that they can get away with anything in the future. I do not think
this is good for the Indian Tennis. At the same time, forcing them to
play with Paes may not bring medals. Irrespective of personal
differences, politics, and open criticism, I laud Paes for maintaining
the decorum. The AITA could have handled it better off the Press.
AITA owes the fans an answer: not why this pairing or that pairing was chosen but why Khanna is still the AITA president, ruining Indian tennis like his father did a while back.
Who's this khanna? Was he a great ex tennis pro from India who no body has heard of? This guy is an egostic maniac who must be sacked immediately so that AITA decisions are NOT taken on his whims and stupid moods; he simply doesn't deserve the post in AITA. Did he get that post with his inherited fortune OR did he have political connections? Other culprit in this whole episode is that paes who is NOT all that innocent he is portrayed by the stupid or is it the arrogant media; paes plays mind games with Bhupathy and Bopanna everything suiting his whims and fancy and selfishness. Both khanna and paes are selfish to their bones and birds of the same feather. Media by NOT exposing this make Bhupathy and Bopanna look like the ones who are on the 'wrong' which is utterly false upto 100%.
I congratulate Bopanna for giving a strong, balanced and cogent argument for his stance.Will the power wielders at the top listen and pay heed to such a reasonable argument?
Officials should have farsighted wisdom. With the ultimate National Interest in mind, they should not have attempted to treat tigers like cubs. Taking unilateral arbitrary decisions and expecting blind obedience from National heros, was surely not in the interest of the game. Doubles is a team event where you cannot spare room for any form of reservation - be it ir-rational, natural human egoism, or a misplaced understanding between both players.
If the authorities had called all 4 players for a level-headed cordial discussions in the first instance, the outcome could have been more logically equated, avoiding this form of national disgrace in the international arena. We seem to have lost the game even before it has started.
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