Indian Tennis: Split Wide Open

There are quite a few things in my mind that can be "blogged". But what, perhaps, could not stop me from signing in here is the latest news of Indian tennis going down the doldrums. Four Indian tennis stars, the most notable among them being the great Mahesh Bhupathi, have written to the All India Tennis Association (AITA), that they would not play in the next Davis Cup tie against Japan, if the team is continued to be led by Leander Peas.

This news, confirmed by all the players involved, has not only come as a huge shock but also as a big setback for the future of Indian tennis. Paes has been accused of being a poor leader and the players, including Prakash Amritraj, Karan Rastogi, Rohan Bopanna, apart from Bhupathi, have objected to Paes' critical attitude towards them in the press and believe he does not fulfill the larger role of a captain -- not encouraging or communicating with the teammates enough outside the Davis Cup weeks.


The golden duo of Leander and Mahesh, dubbed the "Indian Express" and, perhaps, the best thing that ever happened to Indian sport, had, unfortunately, already split in 2000 and "are not on talking terms", according to Mahesh Bhupathi. The duo, however, have always put their differences in a corner when it came to playing for the country, be it in the Davis Cup or in the Olympics. The reason for their split is, perhaps, the biggest mystery of Indian or rather, world sport. Unless one of the two come out with a tell-all autobiography, this mystery will remain what it is right now - a mystery. Bhupathi and Paes were expected to play together for India in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They were, and always will be, India's best chance for a medal at the Olympics. What implications would the recent developments have, starting from whether they would even play together at the Olympics, is yet to be seen.

The widening split between Paes and Bhupathi is, according to me, bigger and nastier than the split between Ganguly - Chappell or for that matter even Fernanndo Alonso - MacLaren F1 team. Cricket and F1 are more of team sports and there are replacements available. But it is the Indian tennis, which is a more of a two-man show, will have to bear the brunt.

I am not a stupid news channel to conclude or speculate for any reason at all. Unless we know the reactions from both the parties involved, it is difficult to predict the future of Indian tennis. India need both, Leander and Mahesh, at this point of time. Not only because the Olympics is around the corner, but also for the fact that Rastogi, Bopanna and Amritraj are too raw and inexperienced to take over the responsibility on their young shoulders - a responsibility and the billion expectations that Bhupathi and Peas have so wonderfully handled on their mature shoulders for over a decade despite their differences.

This is not even the last thing that tennis fans, like me, would have wanted. India is already suffering from Sania Mirza's decision to pull out of the Bangalore Open in order to avoid any further controversies. The Indian star, the best that we have after Paes and Bhupathi, refused to play in India after being involved in numerous controversies, most of them having being created by publicity-hungry people and for no absolute fault of hers.

All that I, as a true Indian tennis fan, can hope for is that Bhupathi and Paes play together at the Olympics - because they are India's best chance for a sure-shot medal and that Sania decides to revoke her decision of not playing in India, as this would be her best chance of stepping up in the rankings. I also wish, but I know that this would never happen, that the Indian media, especially the Hindi news channels, let these players alone and not create controversies.