From bad to worse.
The was already a very big embarrassment because of the “great” refusal by Bopanna and Bhupathi to partner with Leander Paes at the 2012 Olympic Games (see the all story here).
The AITA took the very controversial decision to ban both players till 2014.
What Happened?
Trying to summarise, both Bopanna and Bhupathi refused to play the Olympic Games with Leander because of personal reasons and the fact that they have decided to partner together also in preparation of the Olympics.
Eventually Paes had to partner with Vishnu Vardhan (a youngster) and he couldn’t bring any medal to his country (as Bopanna and Bhupathi).
The Federation got a bit upset with that and apparently they didn’t want to let it go.
The Statement
So, the AITA Secretary Bharat Oza announced on Saturday “It is … decided not to consider Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna for selection to play for India until June 30, 2014,”
The Reaction
Bhupathi’s reaction on Twitter was pretty clear. “The cranky old grand fathers on the executive committee, who have never played tennis waiting for a reaction? There is one coming.stay tuned!”
We were hoping for a friendly ending… it wasn’t the case
