From the bleak scenario when just two players were selected by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) last month, India has managed to field seven tennis players for the London Games, thanks to the wild cards and the change of heart about fielding two men’s teams.
Everyone, including Leander Paes should thank Mahesh Bhupathi for the healthy turn of events. For, world No. 5 Paes may have looked short-changed by being paired eventually with rookie Vishnu Vardhan, but the Atlanta Olympics singles bronze medallist, has got the best out of a bad bargain.
The 39-year-old Paes, ready to be the first tennis player ever to compete in six Olympics, has as good a chance as anyone to win the mixed doubles medal with Sania Mirza.
Paes is one of the finest in the world at the net on any tennis court, with breathtaking volleys particularly effective on grass, and Sania’s ground strokes could be potent as she had shown in winning two mixed doubles titles from three finals.
Forget who will play the left court as both are right court players, Paes and Sania have to just divide the court horizontally rather than vertically.
Stirring story
To inspire them, it may be appropriate to recall a stirring story from the 1924 Games in Paris, when mixed doubles was played the last time in the Olympics, before being revived in the current edition in London.
American Richard Norris Williams was one of the 11 survivors of the Titanic tragedy in 1912, and had braved freezing water for about six hours before being rescued, when many around him had frozen to death.
The doctors had suggested amputation of both his legs to avoid gangrene, but the 21-year-old Williams refused and recovered normally.
After seeing death so close, and serving the army with distinction, facing opponents on a tennis court was a child’s play for Williams, as he partnered Hazel Wightman to clinch the Olympic gold.
The interesting part was that Williams twisted his ankle in the semifinals, and proposed a walkover for the final. His partner Hazel, however, told him to stay at the net, and covered the whole court herself, to beat another American pair of Marion Jessup and Vincent Richards in the final, 6-2, 6-3.
Destiny at work!
Well, Sania and Paes won the Asian Games mixed doubles gold in Doha in 2006.
In fact, it was Paes who gave the then 15-year-old Sania the first big chance when he partnered her in the Asian Games in 2002 in Busan for the mixed doubles bronze. The early loss in the last Commonwealth Games was an aberration.
Perhaps, it was destiny that drove them again together, for otherwise it was impossible to visualise Sania not pairing Bhupathi after winning two Grand Slam titles including the French Open last month.
Rohan Bopanna has been thrilled to play the Olympics with Bhupathi, that too on grass, after all the uncertainty.
He had shot up so brilliantly with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan that he virtually became a bone of contention between Paes and Bhupathi, thanks to his big serves and strong strokes, not to forget the winning attitude.
“The long third set should give a good chance for the better teams, particularly the ones playing regularly,” observed Bopanna, suggesting that the long preparation through the season with Bhupathi would weigh in the team’s favour at some stage.
Can’t be ruled out
It may be stupid to rule out the chances of Paes with VishnuVardhan.
Paes, only 19, was one win away from a medal in the 1992 Barcelona Games with Ramesh Krishnan when the duo lost the quarterfinals.
The defeat in the bronze play-off in Athens with Bhupathi was a heart-breaker when the Croats Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic prevailed 16-14 in the third set. Paes will be charged up to get it right this time.
Even Sania, in partnership with the seasoned Rushmi Chakravarthi, may cause a ripple, but the same may not be the case with Somdev Devvarman who has not played competitive tennis for more than seven months owing to a shoulder surgery.
