In his communication to the All India Tennis Association (AITA), Rohan Bopanna has stated that Saketh Myneni is his choice of partner for the men’s doubles tournament in the Rio Olympics, according to media reports.
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“Leander, ranked 46, is number two player in the country and Saketh is fifth at number 125”.
Hingis and Paes hold the French Open trophy after winning the mixed doubles final.
Bopanna and Myneni have played the Davis Cup previously. Unless the committee approves of the Bopanna-Myneni pairing, their names will not be sent. The AITA selection committee now has a tough task to do as it would want all the players to be happy going into the Olympics.
Prarthana Thombare’s is now placed 209th and is the India number 2.
Like Bopanna, Sania has also communicated to AITA that she prefers to play mixed doubles with Bopanna.
Paes and Sania have paired up on numerous occasions. “Look forward to AITA supporting me in the lead up to the Rio Games”, Bopanna’s letter to AITA was quoted in the report. Though he has a singles bronze from Atlanta 1996, he is keen to add a second Olympics medal to his resume.
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During the 2012 tennis team selection for the London Olympics, a similar controversy had taken place when Mahesh Bhupathi and Bopanna teamed up leaving Paes to partner a rather inexperienced Vishnu Vardhan. He had told HT earlier, “Rohan and I are the best possible combination…”
