Will the AITA take the right decision?

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi

Gone are those days of hugging and chest butting. They are no longer friends. What started as a petty feud in 2002 has now completely gone out of hand. Two of India’s greats in the doubles category of tennis, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi or Lee-Hesh, as they are often referred to, are not even prepared to see eye to eye nowadays. Such is the sorry state of Indian tennis, while the Olympics are fast approaching.

When the situation is so pathetic, it looks as if the AITA has decided to spoil the scenario further. Mahesh Bhupathi has categorically made it clear that he is not interested in partnering Leander in the Summer Olympics this year but the AITA is trying to convince him to do so. Is it not completely illogical that the association is mulling tagging together two players who are reluctant comrades in the game?

With Bhupathi having refused to partner Paes for the Olympic doubles event, the AITA attempted to rope in Rohan Bopanna, who has been having great success of late in doubles competitions. Even Bopanna has responded negatively to this proposal as he and Bhupathi have jointly issued a statement that neither of them is interested in partnering Leander Paes.

It is thus surprising to see the adamancy of AITA, the incumbents of which are bent upon having the former partners play together, while the situation between Paes and Bhupathi is of rambunctious discontent. The reason, as told by the AITA, is that the two form the team which has the best prospect of getting an Olympic gold medal for India. Why do not they look into the past and see the four previous failed attempts of the duo at winning a medal for India at the Olympics? Even though there have been success stories attached to this team, having failed to win a medal not once, but on all four previous occasions in the Olympics, it is really nothing but an attempt at suicide to have both of them in one team.

For India, getting even one Olympic medal has always been a remote possibility. When such is the case, the personnel of the AITA should thank their stars at seeing two players interested and ready to go for the gold medal in tennis, and pair them with each other. When Bhupathi and Bopanna are mutually agreeing to partner one another in the Olympics, why is the AITA looking to play spoilsport? What is the necessity for resorting to such high handed tactics? If India is rich with players who can win Olympic medals, I can understand the association wanting to to show dominance. But when winning one medal in the Olympics itself is gold dust for India, them creating so much of sensationalism is probably going to reduce the chances further.

Altogether the AITA is behaving as a bad parent. When a boy or a girl does not want to pursue a profession but is yet forced to pursue it, he or she will end up nowhere in their career. This is applicable to any field and so it is with tennis. When two friendly players are sent as a team, even if they do not end up getting a medal, there can always be hope till the last moment for them to do so. But when two players who cannot get along are sent as a team, the hopes are dead right at that moment. Will either of those players’ egos listen to the other while devising strategies? The game of doubles in tennis needs to be played with strategy and when the two players are at two different poles, north and south, how can they ever settle for a common strategy?

Amidst all this, the AITA is making a futile attempt at striking a union between the two players. Leander has been a great player for India and has proudly carried the Indian flag wherever he has played. No doubt one needs to respect him for that, but whatever is happening or has happened between him and Bhupathi is personal and so one cannot favour one and decry the other. Just as Paes, Bhupathi also has served India’s cause well. If Bhupathi asks Bopanna to partner him, so be it. Give him the individual he wants to play with if you want to reap the desired results. If the AITA wants to be nice to Leander for what he has done for the nation, the only option is to send another team with Leander and a partner who has no problems partnering him.

In fact, all I can say is that Bopanna would be an ideal partner for Bhupathi’s style of play. In tennis, holding serve is very important. As much as Leander is equipped with quick hands which a player needs to have to play an attacking game from the nets, he has a very weak serve and this fact cannot be denied. Whereas Bopanna, like Bhupathi, has a very good serve and when these two play together, we can be a bit sure of seeing them hold serve. Rohan being a youngster, compared to Leander, should be given a chance to play on the grandest stage of them all – the Olympics. I strongly feel India should try to grab this opportunity of having found a new team which is filled with a sense of unity and togetherness.

I hope some commonsense prevails at the end, and the AITA does what is good for the country. For Leander though, they can find a new partner and send a second team to the Olympics.