Leander Paes still on the fence

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Leander Paes, it is learnt, will wait till June 28 to decide on his participation in the London Olympics.

Paes, who is 'very disturbed' following the All India Tennis Association’s decision to send two teams, has decided to wait for the International Tennis Federation’s announcement of wild cards for the Games, which will determine his and Sania Mirza’s fate in the mixed doubles event at London.

In case she fails to get an entry, Paes’ chances of winning a medal at the Olympics will diminish since his combination with Vishnu Vardhan may not survive long in the tough men’s doubles field.

So, if Sania misses out on a wild card, Paes may decide against competing in the Games. An emotional Paes was on Friday quoted as saying from London, “Today, I don’t feel like a son of the soil anymore. I’m shocked that we have given in to dirty politics... due to two people holding the country to ransom, my Olympic dream is in jeopardy,” Paes added.

AITA selector Rohit Rajpal is already in London, in the hope of persuading Paes to partner Vardhan at the Olympics. Despite Paes’ reservations, the AITA on Thursday had named two teams for the July 27 to August 12 Games — Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, and Paes paired with the lower-ranked Vardhan (207) in the men’s doubles.

AITA president Anil Khanna however, conceded that this decision was unfair to India no. 1 and world no. 7 Paes, adding that pairing up Bhupathi and Bopanna on tennis grounds alone may not be the best decision.

“However under the given circumstances, this is the most appropriate decision,” he added.