London calling for Vishnu, finally
Vishnu Vardhan ignores partner Leander Paes’ nasty comments and concentrates on his Olympic dreams
On Friday, Leander Paes finally agreed to partner with AP tennis player Vishnu Vardhan and represent India at the upcoming London Olympics. While he did make the latter’s dream of becoming an official Olympian come true, Leander was completely graceless in his gesture.
Finally confirming his Olympic participation, Paes took what seemed like pot-shots at Vishnu and their chances of winning a medal. “I don’t even know if he has grass court shoes, so it is a bit of a tough one... Whatever the obstacles are, which I see are going to be many — he’s never been to Wimbledon before — whatever I can do to help my partners out, I do,” Paes said.
Paes’ comments now make people understand why Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza had reservations about playing with him. Instead of encouraging young talent he was being meanspirited, displaying unsportsmanly behaviour.
After the way he has behaved with both Vishnu and Sania Mirza, Leander will have zero fans rooting for him here in Andhra.
For t unately, instead of letting Leander’s comments upset him, a brave Vishnu chose to look at the silver lining, when asked what he had to say about his partner-to-be’s comments. “I’m sure Paes said what he did out of concern and not condescension, as it may seem. The first thing any tennis player is taught is to get their equipment right. I’ve had grass court shoes for years, but we need the best to play at Wimbledon (the venue for the Olympics). I am sure that is all there is to it.”