Leander Paes is hurt and angry |
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He might be in seventh heaven after receiving the prestigious Padma Bhushan honour, but Indian tennis legend Leander Paes is still rankled by the selection furore prior to the 2012 Olympics and holds Mahesh Bhupathi responsible for making the Games a "real sad" outing for him. The build-up to the London Games was marred by a selection row as players resorted to bickering. A can of worms opened up when Rohan Bopanna refused to partner Paes in the event, insisting on teaming up with Bhupathi. In the run-up to the London Games, both Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna refused to play with Paes and insisted on being paired together. In a damage control exercise, the All India Tennis Federation paired Bhupathi with Bopanna and to appease Paes, paired him with Sania Mirza for the mixed doubles. That bitter episode has left Paes even more motivated to play in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
