While the AITA tries to mollify Paes and Bhupathi, the question arises not about the AITA’s final decision, but about the Indian Tennis teams’ chances at the Olympics. Facts clearly state that the partnership between Bhupathi and Bopanna has, so far in the tennis season, failed substantially, while Mirza and Bhupathi have had two grand slam mixed doubles titles to their credit. Considering that winning medals in the doubles is the best tennis result that India can hope for at the Olympics, the AITA’s decision, while succumbing to pressure from players, looks dubious indeed.
If Mahesh Bhupathi did indeed have a problem with Leander Paes ditching him without any prior intimation, why did he wait for so long to talk about the issue? The fact that they would be considered primarily for a doubles team should have been an added incentive to clarify matters right at the onset that he would partner Bopanna and no one else come the Olympics. Such a furore raised over a simple-yet-vital issue, at such a late date, doesn’t exactly spell professionalism, especially for a man of Bhupathi’s calibre.
As regards Leander Paes, the fact that he has stooped to resorting to veiled coercive statements, again, isn’t palatable for his fans. He might be one of the best tennis players to represent the country, but in the nation’s interest, he should have relented to partner a lesser-known tennis player. How does it matter who he is partnered with? If he could partner a relatively unknown Alexander Peya in the French Open, Vishnu Vardhan as a potential Olympic pair-up should have been easily accepted. The actions and the back-and-forth volley of vitriolic comments and accusations come across as extremely petty, not to mention abjectly selfish and self-centred.
And in this whole gamut of I-won’t-play-with-him-because, who turns out to be the loser? The nation, the players, those who are kept waiting for their chance because of bloated egos, and the ego-centric sportsmen themselves. Between the nation, the sport and the sportsmen, it’s always the nation and the sport that should take priority. The sportsmen are mere representatives like professionals in any other field, expected to put the nation and the sport before themselves and their self-importance.
0 votes
