In the end all it took was a simple barely 10-minute long meeting. For a couple of months mediators have tried to arrange just that between the two.
NEW DELHI: Did anyone ever really believe that Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi would not pair up for Beijing? AITA secretary Anil Khanna all along maintained that the two would play. The players would off the record admit that there was really no other choice if a medal was to be gained.
Those in the know always felt that these are just pressure tactics. Once Bhupathi’s legit demand of playing together on the Tour was met, all the other issues faded away.
Bhupathi was obviously miffed at there being no attempt by Paes or the AITA to lay out a concrete plan. Paes was cold towards him as the recent Davis Cup revolt of the players has led him to believe that Bhupathi is out to malign his image as the man who has always put country before self. Bhupathi started off by categorically stating that he would not play, then mellowed down in the next couple of days to focus on preparation and has now done a complete about-turn given that his conditions have been met.
Paes, usually the more emotional and more likely to say too much when confronted by the press, this time around stuck to one thing over and over again: Let’s set aside differences to play the Olympics.
While Bhupathi has used the media to highlight his concerns and get what is certainly the best way to get this partnership of veterans the necessary grease and oil for one last hurrah, his categorical denial to partner Paes in the beginning and the present reversal does not bode well for his image. He has come across as someone that the media will have trouble taking at face value.
In the end all it took was a simple barely 10-minute long meeting. For a couple of months mediators have tried to arrange just that between the two.
Every time it looked like one was letting go of his ego, the other would say something to negate the negotiation process. Cold vibes on tour and the monster of ego all along threatened to scuttle their challenge.
To the cynic it would appear that once Bhupathi lost in the first round of the French Open, his chances of a top-10 ranking before the cut-off date diminished, thus taking away the possibility of his pairing up with a partner of his choice.
But AITA had all along made it clear that it would not endorse any such entry. Instead, what has happened is that both came around to accommodate the other’s viewpoint as both are hungry for that medal.
Then, Bhupathi could anyway not afford to look like the villain who refused to play Olympics for India. That would have been terrible for his public image and may have well hurt his business interests and sponsor tie-ups in the future. Paes also could not afford even the notion that he did not accommodate Bhupathi’s demands on account of a difference of opinion that cost India a potential medal.
His image too would have suffered. All this drama piled on the pressure.
That both revel under such conditions bolsters their chances further and is the only saving grace from this sordid mess.
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