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Journalism of Courage
The world isn8217;t all black and white, and neither is form permanent. Such were the realities that haunted the Indian tennis team today when, with the loss of the much vaunted pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi 8212; back together after a long break 8212; lost to their Chinese Taipei opponents. That also ended India8217;s progress in the team section of the tennis competition at the 15th Asian Games here.
It wasn8217;t just an upset. It was a shock. Later, Leander, skipper of the squad, said he believed the doubles pair 8220;not only played disastrously, but we also let our singles players, the juniors, down.8221; He came out strongly on their partnership and the way they played, and stopped short of questioning Mahesh8217;s commitment.
The slide started with the defeat of Karan Rastogi, 1-6, 3-6 to Yeu Tzuoo-Wang in 67 minutes in the first singles. Rastogi managed to come back into the game somewhat in the second set, but the first set shock was a trifle too much.
Rohan Bopana played a rousing game in the second singles to beat Yen Hsun-Lu 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, and it was then left to the doubles stalwarts to wrap it up. It was not to be, though. The once world No. 1 pair have up the ghost in 70 minutes, losing to Yeu and Yen 2-6, 3-6. It was poor display of tennis, and rank bad display of co-ordination, something that had kept the Indians on top of the world for so long. More importantly, it was a bad display of patriotism. There was none of those great camaraderie moments of the past in view, and only once did they involve in those famous chest-bumps in cheer. The fact, yet, was that there was little to cheer. There were double faults, just one ace, just four break points converted overall. Okay, so the Taipei pair was second seeded, but the sheer volume of the Indian duo8217;s past was imposing enough.
8220;Between Mahesh and I we have won 17 Grand Slam titles and god knows how many finals we have made, and this isn8217;t what we should have given to the juniors who played so well today,8221; said Leander, calm, on the top but visibly upset. 8220;Bopanna, especially, played a great game, coming back from a set and a breakpoint down to win against Yen.8221;
Yen may not be a star on the ATP circuit, but he isn8217;t new commodity for the Indians, having won the doubles title at the Chennai Open in 2005. In 2004 he became the first player from Chinese Taipei to be rankd inside the world8217;s top 100 players.
Leander also said that 8220;as skipper, we would like to sleep on this today and then would like to have a word with certain players in the team before deciding on the singles blueprint.8221; If that was a clear indication to Bhupathi to shape up or ship out, it did not reflect in Leander8217;s face, though coach Nandan Bal was stronger in indicating that it was time Bhupathi showed more involvement.
The singles will bring in tougher decisions, especially the Leander-Sania Mirza pairing that has already created a furore between the two stalwarts of Indian tennis. 8220;Sania is a great talent,8221; said Leander. 8220;More than that, she is also a great spokesperson for Indian women8217;s tennis, I think we will be able to give a great deal to the game here.8221;
2000 to 2006: Courtship full of double faults and aces
From best buddies to world-beaters, it has been a road full of twists and turns for Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes. Ironically, the first hint of the tension in their relationship came at a time when they were believed to be invincible.
2000: The duo stormed the Grand Slams in 1999- reaching the final of all four and pocketing the French Open and Wimbledon titles 8211; but the cracks in the seemingly perfect partnership were beginning to widen.
2001: Lee-Hesh decided to give it another shot but a string of disappointing results follow.
2002: As a result the pair split for the second time.
2004: Bowing to public pressure, the two joined hands again for the Athens Olympics. But the Indian medal dreams ended in a Greek tragedy. The duo lost the bronze medal match. It was back to their own ways soon after.
2006: Mahesh Bhupathi ruffled more feathers by declaring he would quit the national team, not happy with AITA8217;s decision to pair Leander with Sania Mirza at the Asian Games. He did have a change of heart and decided to play both men8217;s and mixed doubles.
