The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : AITA wants Mahesh Bhupathi back in the team

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Wednesday, Oct 04, 2006
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AITA wants Mahesh Bhupathi back in the team

Special Correspondent

WIDENING RIFT: Mahesh Bhupathi's recent comments would suggest that he and Leander Paes might never again be seen on the same side of the net. — FILE PHOTO: PTI

NEW DELHI: The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has reiterated that Mahesh Bhupathi was an irreplaceable player and that his presence would be very much required to bolster India's medal hunt at the Asian Games to be held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1.

Responding to the ten-time Grand Slam champion's statement in Mumbai at the conclusion of the ATP event on Monday night that he had already played his last for India, the secretary general of the AITA, Anil Khanna, emphasised that Bhupathi may have been upset about a few things, to take such a drastic decision but the association would persuade him to play, considering his significant contribution.

The AITA secretary general, who is also the president of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), did concede that Bhupathi had mentioned not being part of the Indian Davis Cup squads for the zonal ties in the interest of the team as it would help having an additional singles player.

"Actually, we had discussed this point in the ITF meeting three years ago — about having three singles players apart from two doubles specialists for Davis Cup matches, but that did not come through. It is risky to go in for ties with only two singles players, and we could appreciate Mahesh's concern on this count, though we would very much need his services for the World Group matches,'' Khanna said.

India's next Davis Cup tie will be in Uzbekistan in February 2007.

Key member

Talking about the Asian Games, Khanna said that Bhupathi did mention that he would like to withdraw from the Doha event. He added that he would persuade him to be part of the team as he was a key member of the team.

"His accreditation has been done, and we are very keen to have him in the team. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi are two wonderful players. Both are great in their own right. They are equal in our eyes, and we need them both to be playing together in the Asian Games,'' said Khanna.

Bhupathi had expressed his concern that it would not be possible to win a medal at the Bejing Olympics in 2008 if he and Paes did not play together for a whole season in the run-up to the Games to be staged from August 8 to 24, 2008. And that was mentioned as the basic reason for his not seeing any point in continuing to represent India.

Paes had committed to Martin Damm for 2007 as he has had a terrific season with the Czech, winning the US Open, reaching the Australian Open final and making the Wimbledon semifinals. In the process, the two have qualified for the year-end Masters event, featuring the top eight teams, to be played in Shanghai.

Tough year

Bhupathi has had a tough year. After winning the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Martina Hingis things have looked up for him only recently, winning back-to-back titles with Mario Ancic in Beijing and Mumbai.

UNI adds

Talking to UNI over phone from Mumbai, Bhupathi had said: ``I had a chat with Leander and he had been extremely honest. We have not been able to adjust the schedule in the lead up to the Olympics.''

``I had a talk with my family, my father and other close ones and have more or less arrived at this decision,'' Bhupathi said.

He also said Paes had told him that things could have been different had he and Martin Damm been out early in the US Open.

Elaborating on his decision, he had said it was not a sudden one but various factors were taking into consideration.

``I needed to cut down on my playing and prioritise on the men's doubles at the Australian Open, one title that I have not won. Two weeks at Doha is not the ideal preparation for the Australian Open,'' he said.

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