When Sania Mirza says that she has been used as a bait to pacify some of the male tennis stars of the country, where she has been paired with Leander Paes just to allow Mahesh Bhupathi partner with Rohan Bopanna, she is fully justified on her remarks.
Sania Mirza, who received the Olympic nod late on Tuesday, came out strongly against Leander Paes and the All India Tennis Association, for treating her no better than a pawn to appease one angry superstar (Paes) who is upset with another of the game's big names Mahesh Bhupathi, says a report in The Times Of india.
"I am thrilled to have qualified to represent India at the Olympics in London," Sania said in a press release. Sania went on to add: "Since the day AITA announced the team for the Olympics a lot of questions have been raised by friends, colleagues, their parents and of course, by the media. As I thought these questions were purely hypothetical without my having qualified, I did not think it was appropriate for me to respond to them at that point of time."
According to TOI report, Sania took on Paes' father first. "To Dr Vece Paes, who on camera asked me to give in writing my decision to partner his son for the mixed doubles event, I would like to point out that my commitment is to my country. For the sake of India I'm committed to play with Paes or Bhupathi or Rohan Bopanna or Somdev Devvarman or Vishnu Vardhan. There should never ever be a question on this although if asked, I am entitled to have my preferences."
According to media reports Sania didn't spare long-time friend Bhupathi either. "Mahesh has firmly stood by his commitment to play with his men's doubles partner Bopanna as he genuinely believed it was good for India. However, in the process, he sacrificed the commitment he made to me to try and win an Olympic medal together for India."
Meanwhile AITA on Wednesday put up a weak defence to Sania's Mirza's jibe taken at it, saying the selection for the London Olympics was done purely on merit and that it acknowledges the accomplishments of Sania.
Sania, who got a wild card entry into the Olympics, had last night lashed out at All India Tennis Association (AITA) for using her as a "bait to pacify a disgruntled stalwart" (Leander Paes).
AITA had assured Paes a pairing with Sania in the mixed doubles event for the London Games after he was teamed up with lower-ranked Vishnu Vardhan for the men's doubles, following Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna's refusal to play with him, says a report in Indian Express.
In doing so, AITA broke the Grand Slam winning combination of Sania and Bhupathi. But tennis body defended its selection process, saying Sania's pairing with Paes was purely based on merit and that it helped the Hyderabadi in securing a wild card from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Meanwhile India's ace badminton player Jwala Gutta has backed tennis star Sania Mirza's claims that the manner in which the All India Tennis Association used her as bait to pacify an unhappy Leander Paes reeked of male chauvinism, and said it has been a long standing problem in Indian sports.
Speaking to NDTV, Gutta said: "AITA should have consulted Sania before taking the decision. It's shocking the way they dealt with the entire episode."
"AITA should have done this in a civil manner. No excuse for such behaviour towards women athletes. The association should have called the players and everybody's opinion would have mattered. It not only brings bad name for tennis, but bad name to the way the whole system works," she said.
