What is the controversy with ex-Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis partner Mahesh Bhupathi and the AITA? All you need to know
Former Indian tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi's latest controversy with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) sees him slamming the organization's general secretary, Anil Dhupar, for the latter's recent comments. The 50-year-old accused Dhupar of "butchering Indian players" on a public platform.
Bhupathi is among the most successful tennis players to have come out of India, having won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles across men's and mixed doubles. He partnered two of the best tennis players of all time in Martina Hingis and Martina Navratilova during his career, winning the 2006 Australian Open with the former.
AITA general secretary Anil Dhupar discussed players Sumit Nagal, Yuki Bhambri and Sasikumar Mukund missing the Davis Cup, among other things while speaking on the Kukspeaks Podcast. Bhupathi responded to this by pointing out and contradicting some of the things said by Dhupar. He defended Sumit Nagal's withdrawal from the Davis Cup squad, claiming that the 27-year-old was injured and that he did not compete for a while after the tie against Sweden.
"This is the Secretary General of the @aitatennis_official butchering Indian tennis players on a public platform . Once you see this you can decide for yourself self if he is a compulsive Liar or just plain Vanilla clueless . 1. @sdevvarman has not done anything for India while He in turn has won the Vikram award. Comical. 2. @nagalsumit one again DID NOT compete the week after Davis cup . He was injured . He played a tournament over 10 days after the tie finished," Bhupathi wrote on Instagram.
The former tennis ace called for Dhupar to retire, claiming that the latter did not know what was going on with Indian tennis.
"3. India is not playing Bulgaria in Davis cup next sir . We are playing TOGO 4. Ashutosh didn’t do a great job in Spain sir , he did a great job in Sweden. 5. You are right players and coaches come and go but you have been a constant since I made my debut 30 year ago. That is the main issue . Please retire since you still clearly don’t know what’s going on with Indian tennis," the 12-time Grand Slam champion stated.
Mahesh Bhupathi accused AITA general secretary of "blatantly lying"
Stating further, Mahesh Bhupathi criticized the AITA for allowing Dhupar to "butcher Indian players" on a public platform by "blatantly lying". He also called for the organization's executive committee to make a statement regarding this, adding that the comments indicated why a change was needed in Indian tennis.
"Shame on @aitatennis_official for allowing him to go on a public platform and butcher his own players by blatantly lying . Its time the executive committee make a statement and honestly if they choose not to it’s apparent they support this hogwash. Hope it makes sense now why change is needed and even if it’s done it’s going to take years to repair the damage done ," Bhupathi said.
This isn't the first time Mahesh Bhupathi has taken a dig at the AITA. He previously defended Sumit Nagal when the latter was criticized for skipping Davis Cup but initially opted to compete at the Hangzhou Open. The 12-time Grand Slam champion said that Nagal was genuinely injured, speaking about his back issues ahead of the US Open while also addressing the fact that he withdrew from the Hangzhou Open due to back problems.
"I don't know how the controversy cropped up. I know Sumit is genuinely not available... You know he's struggling with an injury going into the US Open. Tested it out in singles. He pulled out of doubles because of too much pain. Then when I was in Dubai last week, he was there rehabbing twice a day there. Then he tried to go to China (Hangzhou). Unfortunately the back didn't work and he had to pull out in the first round," Mahesh Bhupathi told MyKhel.
Bhupathi had an impressive doubles career, during which he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam after triumphing in the mixed doubles category at Wimbledon 1997, partnering Rika Hiraki. Mahesh Bhupathi partnered several top doubles players during his career, including Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis, Leander Paes, Mark Knowles, Sania Mirza, and Todd Woodbridge.