The Rift between Indian Tennis Duo Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes is under no mood to dilute. While Paes has principally agreed to partner with anyone, Bhupathi is reluctant to partner Paes. All India Tennis Association (AITA)
is having difficult times in deciding the Fate of Country’s Tennis in London Olympics 2012.  AITA president Anil Khanna said  he would again try to convince Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna to patch-up with Leander Paes for the Games.
“Today we have underlined five possible options to the sports ministry and they completely agree with us. Asking Leander to pair up with World No.207 or 306 is meaningless. For India the best medal option is just one pair and not two just sending two teams for fillers,” said Khanna after a meeting with sports ministry.
“Leander and Mahesh are India’s best medal hopes. But if Mahesh refuses to pair with Leander then we will ask Rohan Bopanna. We will try to convince both Mahesh and Bopanna to again team up with Leander,” he said.
The AITA top-brass, including Khanna and secretary general Bharat Oza, met at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Complex for over an hour in drafting the reply to the sports ministry. They then rushed to meet sports ministry Ajay Maken.
Maken, who Monday asked AITA to submit an explanation by Tuesday afternoon, said the AITA had to take the final call in the selection process.
“The sports ministry doesn’t wish to be a part of the selection process. We had raised certain issues because of request from certain iconic players. The sports ministry leaves it to the AITA to exercise any of the options in the best of national interest,” said Maken.
“Ultimately the best team has to play for India looking at the best of national interest. Sports ministry will try to talk to the players again but will not interfere in AITA’s decision,” he said.
“In the meeting held in the ministry today with AITA officials, certain options were suggested by AITA in the prevailing circumstance. The sports ministry advised the AITA to exercise the option which is in the best of national interest,” he added in the statement released after the meeting.
Maken’s reaction came shortly after the AITA defended its decision to pair Leander Paes with Mahesh Bhupathi and lobbed the ball back into the ministry’s court, giving it five options to resolve the selection issue.
Maken said he does not wish to be a part of the selection process.
AITA secretary general Bharat Oza in his written reply to Maken said that “asking Leander to pair with a junior player (Yuki Bhambri or Vishu Vardhan) would be the most inappropriate decision.”
Oza also said that asking him to pair up with a junior will be an insult to Leander, who enjoys great respect in the international tennis circuit.
Elaborating the five options to the sports ministry, Oza wrote: “Ask the players to follow the decision of the selection committee consisting of five Davis Cup players and one Federation Cup player. This means that Leander should play with Mahesh. This also means that there will be only one pair but in the views of the selectors the best possible pair.”
The second option, in case Mahesh does not want to play with Leander, Bopanna should play with Leander as per the decision of the AITA selection committee. This again means only one pair will represent India at the Olympics.
The third option is of two Indian pairs at the Games. Leander would pair up with either Yuki Bhambri or Vishnu Vardhan and Mahesh could team up with Rohan Bopanna.
As per the fourth option, if Leander decides not to go to Olympics with a lower ranked player, only Mahesh and Bopanna will represent India. The AITA in the final option said disciplinary actions should be taken against Mahesh and Bopanna if they don’t abide by the decision of the selection committee and Leander takes court with a junior partner.
Oza said the decision to send one or two teams was not an easy one.
Coming down hard on Mahesh and Bopanna, Oza said: “It should be understood that two players cannot make a pact with each other to keep out the No.1 player and thereafter publicly suggest in the media that No.1 player should go to the Olympics with the No.5 player.”