'Rebels' Bhupathi, Bopanna get the boot

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has ‘banned’ Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna for two years for their refusal to play with Leander Paes in the London Olympics.

As briefly reported by this paper on Sunday, the decision was taken late on Saturday night. Explained AITA secretary Bharat Oza on Sunday, “I want to clarify that the executive committee has not ‘banned’ the two players. Rather, it has decided not to consider them to play for India until June 30, 2014. We cannot ban players since we don’t have the power to stop them from playing at the international circuit like ATP or WTA.”

Oza said the AITA would soon put in place a code of conduct for the players. “We’re going to lay down a new code of conduct in the next two to three months. Mahesh and Rohan refused to partner any other player in the Olympics. That clearly amounts to indiscipline and calls for action,” he said.

However, the AITA did not give Bhupathi and Bopanna a chance to explain their positions.

The AITA secretary heaped praise on Paes and said his decision to skip the Davis Cup tie against New Zealand was justified. “Leander informed the association of his decision and we accepted it since we thought that we can pull off the Davis Cup tie with younger players,” he said, adding: “Leander was hurt and emotionally drained by the events. Also, he wanted to avoid the media scrutiny here.”

Oza strove to hammer home a point that the AITA treats all players equally. “AITA is not treating players differently. We have to listen to the players like in the case of Somdev Devvarman. He told us that he has to play the US Open for monetary benefit and ranking points, and AITA has always understood these things,” he remarked.

AITA president Anil Khanna remained incommunicado. When contacted over phone, he said “call Bharat and he will tell you.”

Meanwhile, Bhupathi is likely to explain his side of the story on Tuesday in Mumbai. The last word on the matter has not yet been said.