The latest Paes-Bopanna episode should open AITA's eyes that Olympic glory should not be compromised with unfair selections.
At last, it was good to see some camaraderie among the Indians on the tennis court. There was eye contact, cheers from both sides, warm hugs and handshakes during the course of the game.
Well, for the first time this heartening 'bonhomie and unity' on display was not for the men's team of Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes. Rather this was witnessed on Saturday evening, hours after some acrimonious show on and off the field by the two veteran male stars of India.
Sania Mirza played out her role of a mentor to Prarthana Thombare to perfection during their two-hour-44-minute show here at the Olympic Tennis Centre.
The result may have been similar to that of the men's doubles, losing to Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China 6-7(6) 7-5 5-7, but not before Mirza was able to help her 22-year-old partner raise her game.
Mirza is still left with another chance of trying and win her first Olympic medal when she partners Bopanna in the mixed doubles starting on August 9. But she has actually emerged as a more mature player than her seniors here in the tennis camp.
Maybe she has learnt from what took place before the 2012 London Games. The way ugly spats happened over partnering with players of their own choice, the entire tennis world had a good laugh at India's expense at the end of it.
The main blame has to be apportioned to the All India Tennis Federation (AITA), which looked absolutely clueless in handling ego clashes ahead of London 2012, and looked the same this time around too.
As soon as Bopanna announced that he will partner Saketh Mynneni in men's doubles, AITA was quick to veto, to silence any such noises gaining ground amidst the junior players. The legend, Paes, was once again forced upon Bopanna despite knowing the consequences that more aces will be served against each other outside the court than on the court against opponents.
Where is the selection policy?
Tennis is probably the only sport in India where there is no clear-cut selection policy. In other words, like the way AITA is controlled by its president Anil Khanna similar to his personal business, players are being picked and chosen as per their loyalties to the top bosses.
There have been many instances that show that even the sports ministry finds itself helpless to impose "rules and regulations" over AITA in the past. "You show me the man and I will show you the rule" is only a written law in the Indian tennis.
The rule for selecting partner for Paes before London Games was different than what everyone saw ahead of Rio.
Mirza knows well how she was forced to team up with Paes for the mixed doubles event in London four years ago. However, this time around the world No. 1 women's doubles player had the liberty to throw her weight around and inform AITA of her partner of choice in mixed doubles.
So, the big question is why was Paes forced upon Bopanna despite knowing well that non-playing captains are controlling the strings by sitting in different cities of India.
Money vs Nation
There have been numerous occasions including the loss here in Rio when our tennis officials or players comes out and talks about "bleeding blue" for the country. But no one till date has tried to realise that winning a medal and scoring ego points over own partners can never go hand-in-hand.
"I'm out of any of this controversy business this time," was certainly how Mirza tried to quash any questions on what's happening inside the Indian camp after one of her practice sessions.
Being No. 1 in the world has infused a lot of confidence and maturity in this Hyderabad girl. And, that was the reason she could play out her role to perfection during the women's doubles match.
Whatever Paes says, the fact remains that Mirza came to Rio a good one week in advance to gel well with her partners. Whereas, Paes preferred to play in the US despite knowing that he certainly needed time to adjust with Bopanna, given the huge egos of the two.
Paes has done great things for India during his hey days. But he is not the same player any more at the age of 43. He could well have taken a break for a week or two to focus solely on winning a medal. This would have helped AITA's cause better than just being a body to cover up for the mistakes of their favourites.
Hope AITA will understand that selection of players should be transparent and the colour of blood remains red if India have to win another medal at the Olympics ever!
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 "Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna")
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