London, India's star tennis players spent much of their time ahead of the Olympics Games fighting among themselves in a bitter selection row, but that fighting spirit was sadly lacking when they stepped onto the hallowed courts of the Wimbledon. Not many were actually thinking that the tennis players could win a medal in the Games, particularly after the worst possible build-up that saw players openly squabbling about selections.
The row began when Mahesh Bhupathi refused to play with Leander Paes and instead preferred Rohan Bopanna as his partner. As the controversy raged on, AITA came up with a compromise formula and fielded two doubles team instead -- Bhupathi/Bopanna, and Paes and Vishnu Vardhan, ranked 208 in the world.
To apparently appease Paes, Sania Mirza was made his mixed doubles partner. But when it was the time to perform, the Indian players failed to make much of an impact and most of the teams lasted only till the second round. Paes and Mirza were the only team that progressed till the quarter-finals in the mixed doubles.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment was Bhupathi, who looked off colour and was found wanting in many areas. Clearly, the onus was on Bhupathi and Bopanna to deliver as they got the team they wanted and were seeded seventh in the men's doubles.
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