So the final decision has been made and the fiasco that surrounded Indian tennis has calmed down a bit as of now. Decisions have been forced and all now hopes lies on the acceptance of the decision from the side of Leander Paes. A lot of pressure has been put on the ace Indian player to partner Vishnu Vardhan. Paes, who wanted to play with Rohan Bopanna, has been told to sacrifice and play with the young Visnu. Paes in return has got an incentive to play with Sania Mirza in the mixed doubles category if the later gets a wild card entry into the Olympics.

The two heavy weights of Indian tennis Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi fought for Bopanna with the later emerging out as the winner. But to pacify India’s No 1 and the only one to get direct entry into the Olympics -- Leander Paes -- what AITA did was to break one the most successful Indian mixed doubles pair of Bhupathi-Sania and have taken the decision that if Sania will play, she will play only with Leander and no one else.

Right now it seems that all the decisions in Indian tennis are taken to satisfy the demands of some individuals and winning a medal in the Olympics has taken a back seat. First we didn’t team up the two best doubles players in India and now we have messed up in the mixed doubles category as well.

In the middle of this drama, Sania somehow seems to be left out as no one cared to take her opinion before pairing her with Paes. If she is going to the Olympics to represent our country, she should have some say in the decision making. Let’s have a look at some of the reasons why Sania-Bhupathi would have been a more effective pair then Sania-Paes:

Sania and Bhupathi are great friends: Sania has openly admitted that she idolized Bhupathi as a tennis player when she was growing up and she is his friend. The camaraderie between the two is very good, both on and off the court.  In doubles tennis the trust between the partners and the compatibility matters a lot and this pair seems to have got it. They have been playing together from a long time and are in a very good form.|

Sania & Bhupathi have proved themselves on the big stage: Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi have won two Grand Slams together and that is a big deal. Their recent show in French Open was phenomenal and they looked like the best team on display. India are very lucky that they have these two players who play together so well and they should make the best use of it. In mixed doubles 16 teams are participating and reaching the semis is a matter of winning just two matches, with this team India surely has a chance.

Tussle between Bhupathi and Paes can hurt Sania’s game: It is a known fact that Bhupathi and Sania are very good friends. Sania will also be aware of what all is going around and how dirty the India tennis mess has gone. Bhupathi called Paes ‘backstabber’ and the feeling seems to be mutual. The negativity can have an effect on Sania when she will be teamed up with Paes.

Sania said that she hopes that she will be teamed up with Bhupathi: Sania Mirza after the French Open triumph said she hopes that she gets to play with Bhupathi in the Olympics. She said that they have a massive chance in Olympics and there will be the team to beat and the way they have been paying most of her statements looked justified.

Sania will play with Bhupathi in Wimbledon and that might help: Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi will team up for the Wimbledon and that could have been great preparation ground for the Olympics. Like Wimbledon, Olympics will also be played on the grass court and the pair could have got accustomed to the conditions.  

By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News Network