Paes threatened to withdraw from Olympics

New Delhi : Amid the raging controversy surrounding Indian tennis, Leander paes on Wednesday threatening to withdraw from the London Olympics if he is paired with a lower-ranked player, forcing AITA to defer the team announcement till Thursday.
In a letter to All Indian Tennis Association (AITA), Olympic medallist Paes said, “If Mahesh or Rohan refuse to play with me for our country, then I am happy to play with the next best player that the AITA decides on.’’ “It would not be acceptable, if with my ranking as the best Indian tennis player, I give up the best option of partner for winning a medal for my country and am made to play the Olympics with a player ranked 207/306 in the world while the No.13 and No. 15 ranked players form another team together based on their refusal to play with me,” paes wrote in his letter to AITA.
The junior players referred to in the letter are Vishnu Vardhan (ranked 207th) and teenager Yuki Bhambri (306th).
“If this is the case then for the sake of Indian Tennis and to relieve the AITA in regards to the selection of the team, I have no other option but to withdraw from the Olympics.
“This decision is not taken lightly and with any rancor. We cannot be condoning or rewarding the drama enacted by Mahesh and Rohan. This would be a bad precedent for current and future sports persons (particularly tennis players) in our country,” he added.
With uncertainty continuing over the participation of three top players, the AITA decided to defer the team’s announcement till Thursday, the last day to submit entries to the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
AITA officials are making last ditch efforts to persuade Bhupathi and Bopanna to abide by their decision. All three players are in London.
Last week, the AITA announced that Bhupathi would partner Paes at the London Games. But both Bhupathi and Bopanna, who qualify for the Olympics as a team, have refused to pair with Paes.

Paes, who has earned direct qualification, being World No.7, has the right to choose his partner while Bhupathi and Bopanna can only play as a team at the Olympics. Yuki Bhambhri (World No.219) and Vishnu Vardhan (World No.328) are in the running to partner Paes.