Leander Paes selected for his 7th Olympics, Bopanna tried to snub him in favour of a journeyman

Chicharito

Chicharito

Hall of Fame
Monumental achievement, 7 Olympics!

and we also got the typical quadrennial drama regarding Paes selection.

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Veteran Leander Paes, the winner of 18 grand slam titles, will make his seventh Olympic appearance after he was named as Rohan Bopanna’s partner for the men’s doubles by the All India Tennis Association on Saturday.

Bopanna, ranked 10th in the world, had picked world number 125 Saketh Myneni as his preferred partner, putting in doubt the fate of Paes, who last week won the French Open mixed doubles title with Martina Hingis.

“Committee decided that the best bet for Indian tennis to win a medal at the Olympics would be Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna,” AITA chief Anil Khanna told reporters.
 
This always happens.

Isn't Paes a huge jerk? Neither Bhupathi or Bopanna wanted to pair with him in London 2012 so Paes had to partner with Vardhan.

And then Paes demanded to partner Mirza in mixed doubles in 2012 and Mirza wasn't impressed with the Indian tennis Association.

She said she was used as bait by the Indian tennis association and was forced to partner Paes

Her statement then:
"As an Indian woman in the 21st century, what I find disillusioning is the humiliating manner in which I was put up as a bait to try and pacify one of the disgruntled stalwarts of Indian tennis. While I feel honoured and privileged to have been chosen to partner Leander Paes, the manner and timing of the announcement wreaks of male chauvinism where a two time Grand Slam champion, who has been India's number 1 women's tennis player for almost a decade in singles and doubles, is offered as compensation to partner one of the feuding champions purely in order to lure him into accepting to play with a men's player he does not wish to play with."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...it-for-Paes/articleshow/14418170.cms?from=mdr
 
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Aussie Darcy said:
This always happens.

Isn't Paes a huge jerk? Neither Bhupathi or Bopanna wanted to pair with him in London 2012 so Paes had to partner with Vardhan.

And then Paes demanded to partner Mirza in mixed doubles in 2012 and Mirza wasn't impressed with the Indian tennis Association.

She said she was used as bait by the Indian tennis association and was forced to partner Paes

Her statement then:
"As an Indian woman in the 21st century, what I find disillusioning is the humiliating manner in which I was put up as a bait to try and pacify one of the disgruntled stalwarts of Indian tennis. While I feel honoured and privileged to have been chosen to partner Leander Paes, the manner and timing of the announcement wreaks of male chauvinism where a two time Grand Slam champion, who has been India's number 1 women's tennis player for almost a decade in singles and doubles, is offered as compensation to partner one of the feuding champions purely in order to lure him into accepting to play with a men's player he does not wish to play with."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...it-for-Paes/articleshow/14418170.cms?from=mdr
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Initial plans were Bopanna and Paes in doubles sania and Bhupathi in mixed doubles.
But Bhupathi led revolt against Paes and completely breaking every possible combinations , Paes is jerk but 12 was not his fault completely.
 
This thing is too complicated to either solely blame Paes or totally absolve him of it. It's down to a nasty power tussle between Bhupathi and Paes and as Bhupathi has been much more successful in terms of his talent management activities, he has been able to get other Indian players on his side and against Paes. That doesn't mean it makes any sense for Myneni to partner Bopanna because that would not be our best team. Bopanna is doing it because he is beholden to Bhupathi and has been for a very long time.
 
It is also possible that Bopanna did this so he is not taken for a ride in mixed doubles nomination.

If Paes were to have a higher ranking , there would have been pressure on Sania to accept Paes
 
tennisaddict said:
It is also possible that Bopanna did this so he is not taken for a ride in mixed doubles nomination.

If Paes were to have a higher ranking , there would have been pressure on Sania to accept Paes
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Well, Paes just partnered Hingis to beat Sania in MD at the RG. It is not a bad idea on paper for Paes and Sania to make a team at all. Of course, the off court issues have hijacked consideration of fielding the best team. It's pretty sad and I don't want to single out any one party in this for blame. I just know it's a mess that we have a bunch of successful doubles players but won't win medals only because they don't get along.
 
Gaelle Caplier said:
Paes has 18 GS titles,Bopanna has none! Who the fcuk gave Bopanna the right to reject Paes in 1st place?ATP ranking isn't of much importance in this case as Paes has not had the best partners in doubles.But he has won 4 of the last 6 Grand Slams in Mixed Doubles.
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Who gave him the right to reject? Uh freedom of choice? I can't imagine being forced into something especially when the person I'm being forced to work with is a notorious *******. Paes hasn't even achieved much in men's doubles as of late, he was playing challenger tournaments with Sam Groth a few weeks ago. Yet Bopanma has got himself to the top 10.
 
Gaelle Caplier said:
Paes has 18 GS titles,Bopanna has none! Who the fcuk gave Bopanna the right to reject Paes in 1st place?ATP ranking isn't of much importance in this case as Paes has not had the best partners in doubles.But he has won 4 of the last 6 Grand Slams in Mixed Doubles.
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Who cares how many majors Paes has one. Bopanna has the right to reject whomever he wants. It's called freedom. And in this case he probably made the right choice as Paes is one of the biggest jerks to have ever picked up a racquet. Being successful doesn't give you the right to act as you please. The guy is an arrogant twat.
 
Purplemonster said:
Who cares how many majors Paes has one. Bopanna has the right to reject whomever he wants. It's called freedom. And in this case he probably made the right choice as Paes is one of the biggest jerks to have ever picked up a racquet. Being successful doesn't give you the right to act as you please. The guy is an arrogant twat.
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What you are not getting is that he is not using freedom of choice, he is playing politics, probably you don't know but Sania and Bopanna belongs to Bhupathi group and Bhupathi is right now in and always been in a huge power tussle with Paes.
Paes is jerk but right now most indian on this site or any sports journalist in India is defending Paes as Bhupathi group is playing politics , seriously you think he can compete in olympics with a person who has only played challenger only.
Biggest example is Paes is not partnering with Sania( she doesn't want to as Bhupathi is type of god father to him) because of politics and Paes has won 4 slams out of last 6 slam.
 
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Navdeep Srivastava said:
What you are not getting is that he is not using freedom of choice, he is playing politics, probably you don't know but Sania and Bopanna belongs Bhupathi group and Bhupathi is right now is in and always been in a huge power tussle with Paes.
Pass is jerk but right now most indian on this site or any sports journalist in India is defending Paes as Bhupathi group is playing politics , seriously you think he can compete in olympics with a person who has only played challenger only.
Biggest example is Paes is not partnering with Sania( she doesn't want to as Bhupathi is type of god father to him) because of politics and Paes has won 4 slams out of last 6 slam.
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Navdeep, ye log Bhupathi ke baare mein nahi jaante hain. ;)
 
Dolgopolov85 said:
Navdeep, ye log Bhupathi ke baare mein nahi jaante hain. ;)
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Yaar for me Paes with Sania was best combination as both Sania and Paes in mixed are in great form. Sania is right now no.2 in doubles and mixed doubles and Paes has won 4 out of last 6 slam.
But who ever goes just bring medal I don't care about combinations.
 
Navdeep Srivastava said:
Yaar for me Paes with Sania was best combination as both Sania and Paes in mixed are in great form. Sania is right now no.2 in doubles and mixed doubles and Paes has won 4 out of last 6 slam.
But who ever goes just bring medal I don't care about combinations.
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Absolutely. I kind of felt sad when I saw Sania shaking hands with Paes after their RG match. She could have been on the other (winning) side if not for the politics.
 
Dolgopolov85 said:
Absolutely. I kind of felt sad when I saw Sania shaking hands with Paes after their RG match. She could have been on the other (winning) side if not for the politics.
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I also noticed this, this current saga is reminder of Ganguly, Dravid Chappell saga
 
Mainad said:
Wow, didn't realise Indian tennis is such a hotbed of political intrigue and backstabbing! :eek:

Makes the Borgias and the Sopranos look like choirboys!! ;)
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Sadly that's the story of much Indian sport. In the 80s, two of our greatest cricketers - Sunny Gavaskar and Kapil Dev - had a feud that could have easily rivalled Gower v/s Gooch. Gavaskar actually dropped THE Kapil Dev from a match just to ensure he didn't break a rather trivial record. Yeah.
 
Mainad said:
Wow, didn't realise Indian tennis is such a hotbed of political intrigue and backstabbing! :eek:

Makes the Borgias and the Sopranos look like choirboys!! ;)
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Welcome to the developing country and corrupt sport administration with egoistic sports personalities.
 
Ok, i need help researching concrete examples of what a jerk Paes has become. I have been out of it for a while....just not in touch with players and insiders. What does Paes do to irk so many? He used to be respected in the nineties and early 2s. Played some good singles back then, too, in Davis Cup. He medaled in Altanta. Singles.

I just love his energy and his skills. Then you see him in an interview -- he is eloquent, gracious, confident, and humble all at the same time. And as Mac might say of paes or rafa, "he's just a beautiful, beautiful guy."

Why would Bopanna want to play with a career challenger guy when he could play with a big match player like Paes? I feel for Mirza, and I know Indians generally are fans of politics and bureaucracy, but, man, this is sports. You guys have an excellent tennis history filled with stylish, and generally classy players. Here's hoping they put the bickering aside and play well...maybe win some medals.
 
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Purplemonster said:
Who cares how many majors Paes has one. Bopanna has the right to reject whomever he wants. It's called freedom. And in this case he probably made the right choice as Paes is one of the biggest jerks to have ever picked up a racquet. Being successful doesn't give you the right to act as you please. The guy is an arrogant twat.
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Where is this view of Paes coming from? I've only heard positive things besides his Olympic drama?
 
svijk said:
How/ Why did Paes' great partnership with Stepanek end.....any story there?
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Maybe Radek hit on his girlfriend or something? ;)

But I've noticed that, with the sole exception of the Bryans, many great doubles partnerships seem to split these days for some reason! :confused:
 
tbh, paes is literraly the best indian player of all time. bhupathi is a huge dick and a waste of talent and money.

my preffered line-up would be;
Paes and Mirza
Devvarman and Paes

this is coming from an indian.
 
He beat Zeeshan Ali regularly in the Indian nationals back in the day. That's what he did. I've hated him ever since.

Sentinel said:
Why is everyone here calling Paes a jerk ? What has he done ?
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Frost5541 said:
tbh, paes is literraly the best indian player of all time. bhupathi is a huge dick and a waste of talent and money.

my preffered line-up would be;
Paes and Mirza
Devvarman and Paes

this is coming from an indian.
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Paes is/was the best doubles player in India. However, from all I've heard he is also a big dick - a far bigger one than Bhupati. There is a reason literally all the Indian players dislike him...

Devvarman for doubles ? You've got to be kidding -- he was never a good doubles player -- not to mention he's had a series of injuries and plummeted down the rankings
 
sunny_cali said:
There is a reason literally all the Indian players dislike him...
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I have read for years what a jerk the guy is and lots of comments like the above...yet no one ever says anything specific. And as someone already said, Paes comes off really good in interviews and stuff like that...so why is he so disliked?
 
norcal said:
I have read for years what a jerk the guy is and lots of comments like the above...yet no one ever says anything specific. And as someone already said, Paes comes off really good in interviews and stuff like that...so why is he so disliked?
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Word is that he was/is extremely selfish, tries to grab the limelight at the cost of his partners, interfered in the growth of the younger indian players etc. Now this could all be hearsay, but this is a fairly reliable source. If it was just Bhupathi he had a problem with, you could blame Bhupathi for it -- but it's literally every other Indian player who has a problem with him.
 
^thank you for this^

I would like more details as you have them.
Reading it makes me sad, as a paes fan, but ... It is a window into why he is so disliked among peers in his country. Makes me wonder, and want to learn more from insiders.

Over here, we know much less about Paes. We just love his incredible tennis skills and his deep knowledge of the history of the sport.
 
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Paes has more Talent than all of the three combined together Dhania, Chuu-hesh, Bopananana, they are just jealous of Leander's success.. Paes always play for Country,and other three are Selfish !
 
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