Rio Olympics: Why it pays to be Leander Paes

The All India Tennis Association selection committee on Saturday took decisions on predictable lines with scant respect for a player's wish.

The World No 10 player in doubles, Rohan Bopanna was well within his rights to request the AITA that he be allowed to partner Saketh Myneni.

But then, the AITA, which has always been sympathetic towards Leander Paes, decided to oblige him by putting him on board with Bopanna.

Tennis is a strange sport at home. Each time the Olympics come, for Leander it is almost a matter of right that he gets selected. Till the 2012 London Olympics, he deserved to play at the quadrennial showpiece event as he was ranked inside the top 10.

This year, his form has hit the deck and his playing in the Rio Olympics was solely at the mercy of Bopanna. If anyone needs to be complimented today for being mature and not pressing further for partnering Saketh Myneni, it has to be Bopanna.

He is aware how ugly it got last time in 2012 when two men's doubles teams went to London.

Open fighting and slanging matches in the print media and television reduced the whole thing to a farce. And quite maturely, Bopanna decided not to take a tough stand this week.

The AITA selection committee has given an impression it has done a great job by picking Bopanna and Sania Mirza for the mixed doubles. This is the blue-riband event of the Olympics tennis and Sania had made it very clear she will play only with Bopanna in Rio.

So, there was whatsoever no question of anyone else partnering Sania as she is the World No 1 today. With Leander's ranking languishing in the 40s, there is no way he and Sania would have got into the draw.

It will be a veritable feast in mixed doubles. Roger Federer is expected to pair Martina Hingis, Serena Williams will be pairing with one of the Bryan twins and the other Bryan will play possibly play with Bethanie Mattek Sands. And in Spain, if Rafael Nadal is fully fit, he could be pairing up with Garbine Muguruza.

So, did the AITA think Sania and Leander would make the cut for Rio? No chance, as the combined rankings cut-off will close around 25.

Back to Leander and his passion of playing the Olympics. A big deal has been made about him playing the seventh Olympics, starting with the 1992 edition in Barcelona where he partnered Ramesh Krishnan.

He did win the bronze medal in singles four years later in Atlanta but after that Leander never came close to winning a medal with Mahesh Bhupathi in four attempts.

It's nice for a sportsperson to be obsessed. At the same time, the athlete needs to introspect if he actually has a chance to do well and win a medal.

It is a well known fact that if you look at the athletes from India who will be competing in the Olympics, there is a repetitive pattern.

From Abhinav Bindra to Saina Nehwal and certain track and field events, the faces are the same. Bindra has said many times India needs to find new faces to represent the country in the Olympics.

So, had the AITA picked Saketh Myneni, it would have been a good decision looking at the future. No athlete in his first appearance at the Olympics is going to guarantee a medal.

Bindra competed for the first time in Sydney in 2000 and it was in 2004 he had a good chance to win a medal in Athens. It was a case of bad luck that in Athens that Bindra did not win a medal, though in 2008 he came out tops.

Of course, there is an exception like colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who in his first appearance at the Olympics in 2004, won a silver medal.

I'd not expect any medal this time from men's doubles though the mixed doubles could be very interesting. Sania and Bopanna have played before as well and she is comfortable with his game.

In 2012, she was not even consulted and forced to play with Leander. This time, the AITA selection committee was keen not to make any such mistake.

A few things need to be put in perspective about Leander. This April, he had met Mahesh Bhupathi in Mumbai and discussed the possibility of teaming up with him for Rio.

Given their low rankings, an ITF "special entry" was the only way they could have sneaked into the draw. Once that was ruled out, Leander knew he had to go with Bopanna.

I have heard that even at the French Open, Leander made no attempt to begin a conversation with Bopanna.

Such lack of communication only speaks about the intrigue surrounding the celebrated Indian tennis superstar.

Leander, please thank not just the AITA but also partner Rohan Bopanna for making your "dream come true!"

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)