Tokyo Olympics: Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna's comments are inappropriate - AITA reacts to qualification row
Tokyo Olympics: The Indian tennis' governing body hit back at Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza's comments after the senior doubles player alleged the AITA mislead him and the entire country over his qualification for the Games.
In Short
- AITA General Secretary Anil Dhupar hit back at Bopanna, Sania's comments
- Bopanna hit out at the AITA for misleading everyone about his Olympic qualification chances
- Sania backed Bopanna, saying India was robbed of a potential medal opportunity
The All India Tennis Association Secretary-General Anil Dhupar on Monday hit back at social media comments made by Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna over the Tokyo Olympics qualification row, saying they were inappropriate and misleading.
Anil Dhupar's comments came after Rohan Bopanna slammed the AITA for misleading him, the media and the country over the qualification process for men's doubles event at the Tokyo Olympics. Sania MIrza backed the veteran tennis player, saying India was robbed of a possible medal chance because of the tennis governing body of India in the mixed doubles event.
"Twitter comments by Rohan Bopanna and then Sania Mirza are inappropriate, misleading and without knowledge: they should have checked the rule book of ITF regarding qualifications," the AITA quoted Dhupar as saying.
Twitter comments by Rohan Bopanna and then Sania Mirza are inappropriate, misleading and without knowledge: they should have checked the rule book of ITF regarding qualifications.
- Anil Dhupar, Hon. Secretary General, AITA — All India Tennis Association (@AITA__Tennis) July 19, 2021
AITA clarifies qualification ambiguity
Rohan Bopanna could not have qualified as per ITF Rules. Therefore Sania Mirza's tweet is also baseless and coming from a player of her stature, is condemnable. Fact of the matter is that India's best entry was sent for Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan, which was the correct decision. However, they did not qualify as per ITF rules. Our players' rankings were not good enough for direct qualification, and we made all efforts to get them in. Rohan and Divij were fifth on alternate list on 16th July. Only on 16th July, when Sumit Nagal got a chance in Singles, we saw a possibility, since singles players were also being considered, of Sumit being able to partner with Rohan. We asked ITF whether the entry of Sumit Nagal will suffice to pair with Rohan Bopanna for an entry into Mens Doubles. ITF informed us that this cannot be done at this stage because of various reasons and rules. Even if it is done, the pair would still not qualify.
Rohan Bopanna's comments came after it was reported that the AITA had requested the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to pair up Sumit Nagal and him for the doubles event at Tokyo Games after the youngster made the cut for the men's singles event earlier in July. The AITA reportedly withdrew Divij Sharan's nomination and send Nagal and Bopanna's names after the earlier pair failed to seal a direct berth with their combined doubles ranking.
However, Bopanna said the ITF responded to his query, saying it never received any nominations for Nagal and Bopanna pairing and that the global tennis body made it clear that no new nominations were accepted after the deadline of June 22. Bopanna was seemingly frustrated with the reports of AITA sending his name and giving him false hopes of an Olympics berth.
Whaaattt???If this is true then it's absolutely ridiculous and shameful..by this it also means that we have sacrificed a very good shot at a medal in the mixed doubles if you and I would have played as planned. We were both told that you and sumit's names hav been given .. https://t.co/h3fGkK0im8 — Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) July 19, 2021
Responding to the post, Sania Mirza expressed shock and said the lack of clarity might have cost India a genuine shot at winning a medal in the mixed doubles event. Notably, Mirza said there were plans to field Bopanna and herself in the mixed doubles event if the senior doubles player had got a Tokyo ticket.
"Whaaattt???If this is true then it's absolutely ridiculous and shameful..by this it also means that we have sacrificed a very good shot at a medal in the mixed doubles if you and I would have played as planned. We were both told that you and Sumit's names have been given (sic)," Sania said in a tweet.
India will have Sumit Nagal in the men's singles event at the Tokyo Olympics while Sania, who will be heading to the Olympics for the 4th time, will pair with Ankita Raina for the women's doubles event. The Games will get underway from June 23 in the capital city of Japan.
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