NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top female tennis player has blasted the national federation for using her as “bait” while working out a compromise during an ongoing dispute over selection for the Olympics.
Sania Mirza said in a statement late Tuesday that her interests were ignored in a bid to pacify senior player Leander Paes, who had threatened to pull out of the London contingent after being paired with little known Vishnu Vardhan.
Paes was asked to partner with Vardhan after Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna refused to partner with Paes in London because they have been playing together on the ATP circuit.
The All India Tennis Association tried to pacify Paes by selecting him for the mixed doubles team even though Bhupathi and Mirza recently won the French Open.
