After controversies, it’s time for Paes, Bhupathi & Co. to perform at London Olympics

After controversies, it’s time for the Indian tennis to prove their mettle at the London Olympics. However it needs to be seen if after so much of bad blood and dirty linen being washed in the public the players would be able to forget the past incidents and join hands to perform. The Times of India reports, caught in the crossfire between two stubborn superstars, Indian tennis faces a litmus test at the London Olympics.

“As the contingent of seven gears up to join the race for precious metals at the fabled All England Club of Wimbledon, the onus lies on Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes to restore the country's reputation by letting their rackets do the talking. Paes, Bhupathi and Sania Mirza apart, there will be four first-time Olympians at the London Games in the form of Rohan Bopanna, Somdev Devvarman, Rushmi Chakravarthi and Vishnu Vardhan. It's easily India's biggest ever tennis team for the quadrennial Summer Games, but does bigger necessarily mean better?,” says the report.

“If one were to be logical and dispassionate, India have a realistic chance of bagging a medal in just two events: men's doubles (Bhupathi-Bopanna ) and mixed doubles (Paes-Sania ). The others - wildcard entrant Somdev in men's singles, Paes-Vardhan in men's doubles and Sania-Rushmi in women's doubles - will have their task cut out,” adds TOI.

Meanwhile according to a report in Hindustan Times, Bhupathi said, "Rohan and I have been training hard and we are full-time partners on the tour. You need some kind of preparation because we are not as talented as Roger (Federer) or Rafa (Nadal) to pick up the pieces and win a medal. We felt it was extremely necessary to go with proper preparation and hence we are (going together)," Bhupathi reiterated, on Thursday, about the professional reasons leading up to his teaming up with Bopanna instead of putting the 'Indian Express' back on track.

The 38-year-old, admitting this would well be his last chance of winning an Olympic medal, said the Olympics were by far the toughest men's doubles event, even more so than the Grand Slams. A cursory look at the doubles entry list shows why. The 'Big Four' of men's tennis — Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray — will all participate in the Olympic doubles.

Post Roland Garros, time hasn’t been too generous for Indian tennis, says a report in the DNA. The Bhupathi/Mirza duo couldn’t repeat their French Open feat at Wimbledon. London’s hallowed lawns still give him hope. He could have one last shot at an Olympic medal, which he ranks above Grand Slams.

He admitted at a promotional event on Thursday that the wait (for an Olympic medal) “has been long and painful”. “The Olympics is always super special, more so for us tennis players this year, since it will be held at Wimbledon,” said Bhupathi.

The Wimbledon loss hasn’t forced a change in the way he’ll prepare himself for the Games. “The preparation has been on for the last seven to eight months. Lucky for us, the grass court season has just finished. The Olympics is on grass, so our specific training for the surface will continue right till the end of the Olympics,” said the 38-year-old, who has been teamed up with Rohan Bopanna.

“There is no easy match,” he said about the challenge. “Olympic doubles is the hardest in the world. You need some kind of preparation, because we are not as talented as Roger (Federer) or Rafa (Nadal) to pick up the pieces and win a medal,” he said.