It is the closest they came to winning an Olympic medal. They had
steamrolled almost every opponent to reach the quarterfinals of the
Athens Olympics in 2004, a match they were expected to win without
breaking much sweat. But alas, it was a case of so close yet so far for
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi!
After parting ways a couple of years earlier, the duo had decided to reunite for the Athens Olympics. They started playing together a month before the Games and pulled off some impressive wins. Their superb form going into the Olympics made them the favourites for the doubles gold medal.
It was heart-warming the manner in which Paes and Bhupathi handled the challenge, first from Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish of the US and then from Roger Federer and Yves Allegro of Switzerland in making a smooth progress. They were the only seeded team to figure in the semifinals after beating Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett. The world looked under their feet, but they slipped in the next round against Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuettler of Germany.
But the worst was yet to come. In the bronze medal play-off, they were up against wild cards Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia. The Indian Express failed to capitalise on numerous opportunities to win the doubles bronze, and were pipped at the post 6-7(5) 6-4 14-16 in three hours and 58 minutes in a nerve-wracking contest that began on Friday night and ended in the wee hours of Saturday. Both the teams had won 164 points each; the Croats had dropped 23 points in their last 13 service games while Paes and Bhupathi had dropped one less on their serve. But they dropped one too many in the last game, which ultimately was the deciding factor.
Paes spoke of a “hollow” feeling that had gripped him and Bhupathi after the match. “It is a huge disappointment. We are feeling a bit hollow at the moment,” Paes said. “It was my fault. These things happen in sport and we have to accept it. We gave it our best shot but unfortunately we could not get the medal.”
After parting ways a couple of years earlier, the duo had decided to reunite for the Athens Olympics. They started playing together a month before the Games and pulled off some impressive wins. Their superb form going into the Olympics made them the favourites for the doubles gold medal.
It was heart-warming the manner in which Paes and Bhupathi handled the challenge, first from Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish of the US and then from Roger Federer and Yves Allegro of Switzerland in making a smooth progress. They were the only seeded team to figure in the semifinals after beating Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett. The world looked under their feet, but they slipped in the next round against Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuettler of Germany.
But the worst was yet to come. In the bronze medal play-off, they were up against wild cards Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia. The Indian Express failed to capitalise on numerous opportunities to win the doubles bronze, and were pipped at the post 6-7(5) 6-4 14-16 in three hours and 58 minutes in a nerve-wracking contest that began on Friday night and ended in the wee hours of Saturday. Both the teams had won 164 points each; the Croats had dropped 23 points in their last 13 service games while Paes and Bhupathi had dropped one less on their serve. But they dropped one too many in the last game, which ultimately was the deciding factor.
Paes spoke of a “hollow” feeling that had gripped him and Bhupathi after the match. “It is a huge disappointment. We are feeling a bit hollow at the moment,” Paes said. “It was my fault. These things happen in sport and we have to accept it. We gave it our best shot but unfortunately we could not get the medal.”
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