Non-playing captain Leander Paes and his estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi Saturday came out in support of young Prakash Amritaj.
NEW DELHI: Non-playing captain Leander Paes and his estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi Saturday came out in support of young Prakash Amritaj, who has been in the news lately for his off-court problems.
The two senior pros of Indian tennis blamed the media for blowing Amritraj's stomach bug saga out of proportion.
"I certainly believe that the incident was blown out of proportion. I said that his going out on Saturday night was unprofessional, but it was conjured up to everything unprofessional. Media generalised my statement," Paes said after the day's match at he Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA).
"He (Amritraj) is a very good boy and works very hard on his game. I have never said that he drinks," he added.
Bhupathi added that the media had made a big issue out of nothing.
"It was a birthday party where I was also invited. There no alcohol was served. We are adults and travel the entire world to play, so I don't think anybody is unprofessional in our team," he said.
Some media reports said that 24-year-old Amritraj, who is based in the US, went out of the hotel last Saturday to attend a party and retuned drunk, which eventually caused the stomach infection.
Paes, however, reiterated that the reason he did not play Amritraj on the opening day Friday is to give him an extra day's rest to recover from his illness.
Paes said that Amritraj, son of the legendary Vijay Amritraj, was 100 percent fit and would play in Sunday's reverse singles against Farrukh Dustov.
"Prakash is 100 percent fit and is in great shape. He will get his opportunity tomorrow."
Asked if he had spoken to Amritraj about the controversy, Paes said: "I had a long half-an-hour chat with him after the team meeting last night and explained exactly what I told the media."
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