Somdev Devvarman is available to partner Leander Paes for London Olympics – Tennis News
A latest turnaround in the Indian Tennis controversy occurred when another Indian superstar, Somdev Devvarman, who is ranked 259th in the world stood up and claimed to be fit to partner the doubles specialist, Leander
Paes, for London Olympics.
There was already a great mess about the final decision of the Indian Tennis Association that decided to strip Rohan Bopanna of an opportunity to be an Olympian and send one team instead of two; the former doubles duo, Leander
Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. Bhupathi and Bopanna broke their teams with Paes and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi at the beginning of this calendar year to prepare themselves for Olympics. However, the Indian Tennis Association decided to send one strong team instead of
two weak teams.
In the middle of the furore that stunned the world of tennis, Somdev woke up from a long sleep and asked for his right to participate in the Olympics. He wanted to partner the doubles Indian number one, Paes, in the upcoming Olympics
campaign. However, his lack of fitness and game time was running against his favour. He has not played a single match throughout the season due to a shoulder injury that has kept him out of action since November 2011.
He stated to a private Television Channel, “If given a chance to play, I would play. I have told the AITA that I am ready. They have told me that they will send my entry for singles wildcard. I have no problem playing with Leander
in doubles also. I am looking forward to it.”
Devvarman further added, “The Olympics is five weeks away. I had my surgery in January. I feel pretty good right now. I have to be cautious to see how my shoulder holds up in the next few weeks but my doctors and I am optimistic
that I should not have a problem."
It seems like the Indian Tennis Association has crashed in turmoil with their surprising decision of sending one team instead of two. The Indian superstar who confirmed his availability to partner Paes refused to comment on this
ongoing issue between three players and the association. He just wants to represent his nation at the elitist platform.
Considering the realistic scenario, the chances of Devvarman teaming up with Paes are minimal especially after seeing the strong and stubborn reaction of Indian Tennis Association towards the resistance shown by Bhupathi and Bopanna
in this regard.
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