‘Doubles team turned up cold in Olympics’

MUMBAI: Mahesh Bhupathi on Monday said the men’s doubles team paid the price for lack of practice at the Rio OIympics, slamming the pair for the firstround exit.

Asked if his former partner Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna were underprepared for the Games, Bhupathi said: “Underprepared? There were no preparations at all. They didn’t play matches together. Even when Leander and I were not playing together on tour in 2004 and 2008, we always came together and played a few tournaments and that’s what Olympics demands. This year they went in cold… One match against a dilapidated Korean Davis Cup team is not the way to prepare for the Olympics. Our best shot was in the mixed doubles but were unfortunate.”

Bhupathi, however, wasn’t harsh on the women’s doubles team that crashed out in the first round too. “They put in a lot of practice time. She (Prarthana Thombare) practices in Sania’s academy. Though they couldn’t get into a tournament to practice together given the difference in their individual rankings, I feel they gave it their best shot,” he said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of an inter-school table tennis meet.

SO CLOSE

The mixed doubles team of Sania and Bopanna came closest to a medal in Rio but lost to Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram in the semifinals, and Radek Stepanek/ Lucie Hradecka in the bronzemedal match. “It was unlucky. We were so close,” he said. “There was a lot of talk about who would represent the country and I’m sure that’s going to be the scenario for the next three Olympics as well.”

Bhupathi, who holds the Davis Cup record for the longest winning streak (23) in doubles with Paes, heaped praise on Saketh Myneni ahead of his US Open fixture against Jiri Vesely. “He has a decent draw against Vesely and hopefully he’ll have a good outing with his big serve,” he added.

He was critical of Davis Cup tie being played under floodlights. “The officials should always speak to the teams concerned before taking such decisions,” he said. “I’ve spoken to a few players who would have preferred to play during the day. The match against Spain is a tough one and things like playing in the right conditions and surface

matter.”