Reigning men’s doubles World No. 1 Rohan Bopanna has urged the AITA (All India Tennis Association) to not meddle with his partner selection for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Indian tennis legend has had issues with the AITA after their error forced him to miss the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
“I mean, I can just hope things go well, it still hurts me how the AITA goofed up with my case for the Tokyo Olympics,” a hurt Bopanna said to RevSportz.
Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, Bopanna had expressed the desire to play with Divij Sharan. The AITA disapproved of Sharan and Bopanna playing together, claiming Sharan’s ranking wasn’t high enough, and instead suggested Sunit Nagal’s name.
However, it turned out that the ITF (International Tennis Federation) had not accepted Bopanna and Nagal’s nomination and that AITA was duping the doubles legend. Rohan Bopanna had to eventually miss the event and has been at odds with the AITA since.
Paris 2024 Olympics: Rohan Bopanna on his doubles partner
The official ranking’s cutoff for the Paris Olympics is set for June 10, a day after the end of the French Open. The Australian Open 2024 champion is sure that he’ll make the deadline to be ranked in the Top 10.
“I am dead sure about making the cut now for the Paris Olympics, so it is important to be fresh and in good shape. The cut for the Olympics will be applied after the French Open and before Wimbledon, all looking good,” said Bopanna.
However, Bopanna remains skeptical about the AITA and their decision as to who’ll be his partner. At the Rio 2016 Olympics, the tennis ace was paired up with Leander Paes by the AITA, despite the duo being at odds.
“Well, fingers crossed, I do hope the AITA will respect my decision to pick a doubles player of my choice. We have plenty of options but what is important is I have a partner who can play on clay,” he concluded.
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