2016 in mind, Paes takes break from national duty

New Delhi, Jan 4 (IANS) India’s star tennis player Leander Paes in his bid to stay fit for his seventh Games at the 2016 Rio Olympics has asked the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to excuse himself from the forthcoming Davis Cup tie against Taipei and for other events in 2014.

In a letter written to AITA president Anil Khanna, Paes father Vece Paes informed that son wants to excuse himself from the forthcoming Davis Cup tie against Chinese Taipei, scheduled to be held in Indore from the Jan 31 and that Leander has also expressed his inability to be a part of other events in 2014.

“Leander Paes has been an indispensable pillar of the Indian tennis for the past two decades and being a patriot to the core has always stood up to represent his country whenever called for. Considering the magnanimous contribution Leander Paes has made to Indian tennis for the past two decades, and completely empathizing with his need to spend time with his family,” the AITA secretary general Bharat Oza said in a statement.

The AITA said that it will respect Leander’s decision. Leander has also citied that he wans to spend more time with his daughter Aiyana.

“Sitting out of the squad would give an opportunity to the upcoming talented pool of players to show case their game in front of the home crowd. It is noteworthy, that the game of tennis in India has grown much stronger in the last few years. With the present pool of players presenting a strong playing field, it would surely be a tough task to select the Davis Cup squad for the tie against Chinese Taipei,” Oza said

The present lot of experienced players like Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna would be well supported by the likes of young guns Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni, Jeevan Neduchezian, Sanam Singh, Divij Sharan, Purav Raja, Sriram Balaji, and Vishnu

Vardhan to name a few, and provide for a tough playing combination.

Young players like Ramkumar Ramanathan, Karunuday Singh and Arjun Kadhe are knocking on the doors of Davis Cup Selection.