London Olympics 2012. India's best outing. 6 medals in the scoop.We held our heads high watching the closing ceremony.
Vijay Kumar , Sushil Kumar, Mery Kom, Saina Nehwal, Yogeshwar and Gagan Narang.
Abhinav Bindra's gun backfired. Deepika Kumari's hopes were washed away with the rain. The hockey team helped their opponents hold their heads high. The weight lifters could not lift the medals. All these were fulminant jounces on our so called best Olympic journey. We expected medals, we didn't get them.
But that is not the case with the topic going to be squashed back here. There was an event where we had those stars who could get us definite medallions but nobody expected them to. Tennis.
Leander Paes. Mahesh Bhupathi. Rohan Bopanna. Vishnu Vardhan.
Permutations and combinations and combinations and permutations. And finally, the wrong permutation and combination.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes are a nightmare pair for any opponent they encounter. They, as we know are like seasons. They unite, they 'break-up', they reunite and then they break-up again. Only difference is, when the much-needed time comes, when it matters, they are in two different poles.
Bhupathi wasn't willing to be paired with Paes as he wasn't 'comfortable' with Paes and he thought Paes is a self-centered person. Oh yes, we know Mahesh Bhupathi is an honorable man. Lara Dutta married him ! But this time around, Leander Paes was willing to be paired with anybody. He was willing to be paired with Bhupathi particularly. On the contrary, Bhupathi calls him a self-centered person and of course, who told Bhupathi isn't an honorable man?
The Indian Tennis Association had many choices. To pair Paes with Bhupathi and send them, that is, choosing the best alternative. The best pair they could possibly choose. The second choice was to send two teams - Bhupathi to be paired with Rohan Bopanna (who too, apparently did not want to be paired with Paes) and then finding some random fellow as Paes's partner and weave another team.
That was in fact the 'logical' argument put forth by Bhupathi. Why send just one team when you have the option of sending two?? And the science called mathematics will stand up and say that two teams have more 'probability' of winning medals than one team. Sounds very much logical, doesn't it?
A parent with a kid scoring 100 marks in every exam and a parent with his two kids scoring 60 marks each every exam. Which parent will be happier?
Leander Paes is undoubtedly the best contemporary Indian tennis player. Insult, it was, what Bhupathi did by taking it personally on and attacking Paes in public with the media.
Next comes the question of your personal interest v/s your national interest. Bhupathi cannot play with Paes. Why? - Personal reasons. Nation wants to see Paes and Bhupathi paired. Why? - National reasons. Mahesh Bhupathi the tennis player comes before Mahesh Bhupathi the friend. That is professionalism. Leander Paes was willing to play with Bhupathi as he prioritized the medal winning hopes of his nation above his personal preferences. Yet, somebody calls Paes a 'self-centered' person, and yes, an honorable man he is.
I remember Paes winning an Olympic medal. If my memory supports my statement, he was standing close to a legend like Andre Agassi. He fought against fierce opponents, personal prejudices, ruthless critics, his own disease - we all know that. Paes is a fighter. Watch Paes playing individual tennis and watch Paes playing representing our nation. The difference is clearly felt. Any Bhupathi is obliged to play with him if the nation asks him to. Else, quit the game!
What we witnessed afterwards was a terrible, hapless, piteous scene of a committee succumbing to the pressure exerted by a player. If committee was to dance salsa for Bhupathi's pop, why was the committee even instituted?
Bhupathi undoubtedly is a great player. No denying there must be some truth in what he says. But then too, if you are playing for your country you are supposed to flex yourself.
The real countersquash to Bhupathi and Bopanna actually happened on filed, on the tennis court. Both the pairs fell in the second round. But Paes and Vishnuvardhan's exit was not a shameful one as the other pairs'. They fought like champions , fought against top-seeded frenchmen and earned each others' respect and the nation's respect. Now, this was a counter-smash!
To pack them all in a small nutshell, the series of shameful incidents prior to the Olympics was a litmus test to find out who the real 'self-centered' person is and what happens when the answerable committees fail and what result you manufacture when you mix tea with salt and curry with sugar.
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