Paes relieved after Bhupathi truce

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June 03, 2008 19:47 IST

India's Davis Cup captain Leander Paes expressed relief over the All India Tennis Association-engineered truce with Mahesh Bhupathi that will see the former world number one team get together for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"I have all along maintained that we must set aside our differences to play together for the country," Paes said in a statement.

"I am glad this issue has been sorted out, for India is bigger than either of us.

"Now let's focus on putting all this behind and working together to aim for a medal," he added.

Bhupathi had written to the All India Tennis Association last month, saying he does not want to partner Paes because of the lack of communication, and would rather enter the Olympics doubles with Rohan Bopanna.

AITA secretary-general Anil Khanna met with the feuding duo in Paris on Monday to resolve the issue.

Paes is also reported to have climbed down from his stance and agreed to play a few Tour events with Bhupathi ahead of the Olympics. He had earlier said that their on-court chemistry was good enough and they only needed to get together to start clicking as a team.

The AITA had proposed a week-long camp for the duo in July in Mumbai which won the support of the former, but Bhupathi had rejected the idea, saying it was a poor substitute for getting some competitive matches under the belt.

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