Paes rubbishes remarks attributed to him, hails Bhupathi

Doha, Dec 13 (UNI) Tennis ace Leander Paes rubbished reports claiming he had vowed not to pair with Mahesh Bhupathi ever and hailed his Davis Cup teammate as a ''stalwart'' of the Indian team.

Surprised at reports claiming he had vowed not to play with Bhupathi again, a bemused Paes, after helping India win second tennis Gold of the day, said he had never said anything like this.

''I was asked if I would pair with Mahesh in the regular circuit again, to which I said 'No'. I'm committed to my regular partner Martin Damm and I can't break that. But I never said I won't play with him.

''On the contrary, I would love to play with him for the country, be it in the Davis Cup or events like Olympic Games,'' he explained.

Heaping praise on his estranged regular partner, Paes siad, ''I consider Mahesh a stalwart of my team and he is always welcome. I don't have any idea how it all happened for I was out there playing for two Gold medals.'' Earlier, a hurt Bhupathi said, ''I'm told by the TV journalists that Leander doesn't want to play with me anymore. If that's the case, I'm not going to beg either. And you people forget about winning the doubles Gold in Beijing Olympics.

''If it's to be the end of the Indian Express pair, so be it.

It's sad, especially at a time when we should be celebrating.

Anyway, I'm happy at least we finished on a high,'' said a visibly hurt Bhupathi.

''We have broken all Davis Cup records for India and wanted to play till I'm 50. But this time I was not keen on playing the tournament but was coaxed into taking part.

''I have not been treated well here, the coach (Nandan Bal) and Leander have questioned my loyalty and fitness and the comments made before the event here was just uncalled for,'' Bhupathi said.

UNI HSB AY BD2351