Sania MIrza lashes out at Leander Paes over Olympic squabble

India's top female tennis player Sania MIrza has lashed out at the All India Tennis Association and Leander Paes for using her as a bait in the dispute for the Olympics doubles pairings. Sania has publicly said she wants to play with mahesh Bhupathi, with whom she won the French Open mixed doubles title but AITA has said that she would partner Leander Paes in an attempt to pacify Paes, who was forced to partner with Vishnu Vardhan when Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna refused to partner with paes.

Sania has received a wild card for the ladies doubles where she will play with Rushmi Chakravarthi and is now also eligible to play in the mixed.

"I feel absolutely thrilled and emotionally overwhelmed to have qualified to represent India at the Olympics in London. I am extremely grateful to the International Tennis Federation for the faith they have reposed in me by giving me a wild card entry that gives me a cherished opportunity to represent my country at the Olympics for the second time in my life."

"To Dr. Vece Paes, who has on camera asked me to give in writing about my intention of partnering his son for the mixed doubles event at the Olympics, I would like to point out that my commitment is to my country. For the sake of India I am committed to play with Leander Paes or Mahesh Bhupathi or Rohan Bopanna or Somdev Devvarman or Vishnu Vardhan or any other person that my country feels I am good enough to partner. There should never ever be a question on this although if asked, I am entitled to have my preferences. I will do everything i possibly can to win a medal for India," Sania added.

"To Leander Paes I would like to point out that Vishnu Vardhan is an extremely talented player, who I had the privilege of partnering. We went on to win a silver medal for India at the 2010 Asian Games, when all the three male stalwarts of Indian tennis had opted to stay away from Guangzhou. I am convinced that he can go one better when pitted with someone as good as Leander as partner. For Leander to consider partnering with Vishnu only if he has a written assurance from me to play mixed (as Vece Uncle has suggested in his television interviews) is, I think demeaning for me, Vishnu and Leander Paes.

"As an Indian woman belonging to the 21st century, what I find disillusioning is the humiliating manner in which I was put up as a bait to try and pacify one of the disgruntled stalwarts of Indian tennis,"