India’s top player Sania Mirza has lashed out at the country’s tennis chiefs, saying she was humiliated at being used as “bait” in an Olympic selection row to pacify a disgruntled Leander Paes. The All India Tennis Association (AITA) last week announced two men’s doubles pairs for the London Olympics with Paes, ranked seventh in the world as a doubles player, paired with 207th-ranked Vishnu Vardhan in one team. Rohan Bopanna (ranked 13) and Mahesh Bhupathi (15) formed the other combination after they said they would not play with Paes for a range of personal and professional reasons. Local media reported Paes made being paired with Mirza in the mixed doubles event at the Olympics a pre-condition for playing with a lower-ranked player in the men’s doubles. “As an Indian woman belonging to the 21st century, what I find disillusioning is the humiliating manner in which I was put up as a bait to try and pacify one of the disgruntled stalwarts of Indian tennis,” Mirza said in a statement. “The manner and timing of the announcement reeks of male chauvinism,” Mirza said. She particularly complained about being “offered in compensation to partner one of the feuding champions purely in order to lure him into accepting to play with a men’s player he does not wish to play with!
