Double fault

First the players threaten and then AITA serves a compromise formula

Sports federations and selection committees in India have had to cope ad nauseum with intense scrutiny and relentless attack. The jury is still out on whether the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and its selection committee should be held responsible for the imbroglio around the selection of the team for the London Olympics.

For me, there was a sense of déjà vu. I recalled the many times my own sport, hockey, had been through similar controversies. In 1968, before the Mexico Olympics, two players, Prithipal Singh and Gurubux Singh, were involved in a battle for captaincy. While the Punjab players swore allegiance to Prithipal, others backed Gurubux. As a compromise formula, the selection committee, in its prudence, decided to name both the fullbacks as joint captains for the Olympics!

Having captained an Olympic team many years later, I could imagine the trauma that team must have had to endure with two lines of communication. Little wonder that India did not make it to the 1968 hockey finals for the first time ever in an Olympics. In the days when hockey was played on grass, this was unthinkable.

The compromise formula reared its head again when AITA announced the doubles pairs for London. Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna had their way in the end, buoyed by their commitment to play together for the period leading up to the Olympics. While it appears to be game, set and match for the Banaglore boys in the off-court duel, one needs to dwell on whether Leander Paes has actually lost out. Was this compromise in the men's team made to ensure that Lee got a shot at the mixed doubles medal with Sania Mirza? Whichever way that decision goes and whether or not Mirza agrees to play with Paes, it is pretty certain that again a compromise has been made in terms of selection. The No. 1 men's pair, as identified by AITA, is not going to play at London. If Mirza gets a wild card and partners Paes, there too India's No. 1 team may not be playing since Bhupathi and Mirza seem to be more comfortable as a pair and have a French Open title to boot.

... contd.

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