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Bopanna picks Hyd’s Myneni
In a move which may end veteran warhorse Leander Paes\' Olympic dreams, Rohan Bopanna has selected Saketh Myneni as his preferred partner for the men\'s doubles tennis event at the Rio Games.
London fracas haunts as AITA takes call on Paes today
New Delhi: In a move which may end veteran warhorse Leander Paes' Olympic dreams, Rohan Bopanna has selected Saketh Myneni as his preferred partner for the men's doubles tennis event at the Rio Games. Bopanna, who informed the All India Tennis Association (AITA) about his decision on Friday, has earned India a direct entry into the men's doubles event at the Olympics due to his top-10 rank.
“I look forward to representing India at my second Olympics and consider it a privilege, responsibility and honour. A Direct Acceptance provides me the right to nominate my men's doubles partner, an opportunity for me to exercise my judgement as to the best possible partner for me. I am looking forward to the support and good wishes of all concerned in the lead-up to the Olympics,” Bopanna said in a statement.
Bopanna's decision means that Paes, a winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, may have to say goodbye to his dream of representing India in a record seven Olympics. According to ATP rules, Bopanna's 10th spot in the world doubles rankings permits him to select the partner of his choice. But even if he was ranked 11th on the cut-off date, Bopanna and Paes would have qualified for the Rio Olympics as a team due to their combined rank.
However, Paes is not yet out of the reckoning for the Olympics as the AITA is yet to approve Bopanna's decision. “Bopanna has informed the AITA that he prefers Saketh Myneni as his partner for the Rio Olympics,” senior official Ranveer Chouhan said. Sources claimed AITA acknowledged Bopanna's preference but it is understood they would not like the player to dictate terms.
“It's not a wise move. People are not going to forget if Paes happens to miss this Olympics because of Rohan... he will face lots of criticism,” said an AITA official. ITF rules clearly state that a doubles team has to be nominated by the national association. Unless AITA approves Myneni and Bopanna as a team, they cannot play.
It will not be a surprise if AITA's selection committee goes ahead with Bopanna, Paes, Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare as India's Olympics team. Like Bopanna, Sania has also communicated to AITA that she prefers to play mixed doubles with Bopanna. AITA will not counter Sania on her choice and will let the two compete in the mixed doubles.
Sania will play women's doubles with young Thombare, the country's number 2 doubles player ranked 209. “The AITA will arrive at a decision following a high level meeting on Saturday,” sources said.
