Mixed luck for Leander Paes ahead of 7th Olympics

New Delhi: Leander Paes won the mixed doubles crown with Martina Hingis at the French Open just days ago but it will not be enough for him to find a Rio Olympics berth with world No.1 Sania Mirza.

It was learnt on Monday that the All India Tennis Association selection committee was trying to convince Rohan Bopanna to play with Paes while in the mixed doubles, the first choice would be Bopanna and Sania. Bopanna entered the top 10 of the world rankings on Tuesday and earned a direct entry into the men’s doubles event at Rio while Paes is ranked 46th. Sania stayed no. one in the women’s doubles with Hingis.

“Paes is winning the Grand Slams but his rank is so poor... he is 46th in the world now. The Olympics has only 16 teams in mixed doubles and at the time of sending entries, the combined ranking should be eligible for the top 16. I don’t know what will be his ranking then. So our captain Zeeshan Ali will take the final call,” a selection committee member said.

“In the mixed doubles, only the top 10 players can qualify and for that Rohan and Sania fit the best but I don’t know what the rule says. I was told that the mixed doubles entry is given on the venue. The captain will decide who he wants to play or in a meeting on June 11, we will take a decision,” he added.

Paes’ dream of competing in a record seventh Olympics may go up in smoke if Bopanna decides to team up with another player. The next best in the doubles are Purav Raja (103) Divij Sharan (114), Saketh Myneni (125), Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (134) and Mahesh Bhupathi (164).

“In the doubles, we want Paes and Bopanna as a team because that is the only way Paes can get into Rio. It’s still not confirmed but we are trying.” On Thursday, the Aita committee will receive a list of eligible players from the ITF, after which the selection panel meet on Saturday.