Leander Paes of India stumbles into the net during his 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 0-6, second round loss to Andre Agassi of the United States, at the U.S. Open.BLAKE SELL/Reuters
The "Indian Express" seems to have been derailed for good.
Only months before the Olympics, a long-running feud between two of India's best doubles tennis players has degenerated into a soap opera of finger-pointing and accusations. On Thursday the external affairs minister made a personal intervention, pleading that the honour of the nation be kept paramount.
The drama played out over the last week caps a fractious relationship between Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.
The seeds of the dispute go back years. Most observers say it is rooted in personal clashes, partly based on ego, that have been worsened by public jabs taken at each other. In one scathing comment, Mr. Bhupathi suggested that he would have a better chance of winning in London by partnering with someone other than Mr. Paes, who is ranked higher than him.
Often dubbed the Indian Express, the men known collectively as Lee-Hesh have competed together in four Olympic games and reached the finals of four Grand Slams, winning two. But they fell out – again – in the autumn.
And now there are hints that Mr. Paes, who was tipped to be his country's flag-bearer for the opening ceremonies, could skip the games entirely.
The mess has left the Indian tennis association scrambling and sparked a spate of criticism.
"With just over a month left for the biggest and grandest sporting tourney to begin, the Lee-Hesh off-court show now sounds like fingernails scraping across a chalkboard," wrote Vinay Tewari, managing editor of CNN-IBN . "While the romantics hoped for a fairy-tale final hurrah in London, the compulsive performers are enacting their ugly spat like a global spectacle."
The Olympics are about athletic achievement and national pride, its boosters often say. It's a time where competitors put aside their professional obligations and personal feuds to perform on the world stage. At least, that's the theory. But the fits of pique erupting in Indian tennis remind how often that ideal is not reached.
The feud most recently came to a head after Mr. Bhupathi (ranked 15th in doubles in the world) refused to play at the Olympics with Mr. Paes (ranked 7th). Rohan Bopanna (13th) also refused to play with Mr. Paes, who threatened to pull out if paired with a lower-ranked player.
The tennis association has tried a Solomonic decision, adding Mr. Bhupathi and Mr. Bopanna as a second team for London. They said that Mr. Paes, a bronze medallist in singles at Atlanta in 1996, would be paired with the next fit player on their list. Humiliatingly for Mr. Paes, that player is Vishnu Vardhan, ranked 207th in the world.
"Mr. Krishna personally spoke with Leander in the morning and told him that he should make some sacrifices for the sake of the nation," All India Tennis Association secretary-general Bharat Oza said Thursday, referring to S.M. Krishna, the external affairs minister and honorary life president of the tennis association. "The AITA hopes Leander will now give Vishnu a chance to play his first Olympics."
But a comment from Mr. Paes' father suggests that the aspiring young player should not raise his hopes too high.
"Leander will be disappointed with this decision, it is very unfair on him," Vece Paes told a TV channel, according to DNAIndia.com. "He is a highly principled as well as an emotional man, so difficult to say which way he will go. I don't think Leander will agree with AITA's decision."
Oliver Moore