Off the court, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi don't see eye-to-eye, but the Olympic torch relay made them run side-by-side as the two buried their hatchet for a while to make a joint appearance.IOA secretary general Randhir Singh fetched the flame from filmstar Aamir Khan to find the 'Indian Express' pair of Paes and Bhupathi waiting together for the final phase of the 2.3 km relay that ended at the Indian Gate where a large cauldron was waiting to be lit.The duo, who have fought many tennis battle shoulder to shoulder, held the torch aloft and ambled towards the cauldron atop a raised platform.As the assembled crowd burst in spontaneous cheers, they climbed the stairs together and lit the cauldron.Suresh Kalmadi, president, IOA, could not hide his joy at seeing the duo together."It was great to see them together. By doing so, they showed they would be our guiding force at the Beijing Olympics," Kalmadi expressed. Bhupathi looking excited after running the relay and said, "It was a unique experience and it would remain a special day for me."Asked how it felt running together with Paes, Bhupathi quipped, "I guess it made a good photograph for the newspapers." The already strained relation between the country's top tennis stars had worsened of late with Paes being quoted in an interview saying, he made a mistake by opting to play doubles with Bhupathi, a decision that cost him his singles career.However, later the Davis Cup captain denied making the remarks. Bhupathi, on his part, led a players' revolt against him earlier this year by refusing to play under his captaincy in the Davis Cup.
