Lee - Hesh face-off: The best and worst for Indian Tennis

Indian tennis seemed void after Ramesh Krishnan hang up his boots. Though there wasn't any olympic or grand slam propects, Ramesh Krishnan tried his best and brought few cheers whenever he played Davis Cup. The gap was plugged by Leander, who looked lot rustic and brought in a sense of patriotism to all those watched, by pumping his fist and waving the Indian flag. He looked so attached to the country.

It became more stronger when Mahesh Bhupathi also joined and the two started looking promising on the circuit. Perhaps, after Mark Woodford and Todd Woodbridge of Australia, these two seem to be the next best doubles pair in the making. Leander winning Olympic Bronze in 1996 Atlanta was a sweet surprise and it further enhanced his arsenal.

Just when these two started peaking, the dreaded ego clash came in. It is not sure who made the first wrong move, but certainly it started to affect these two as well as Indian tennis. Now, after the Asian games, it is confirmed.

At the Doha Asian games, Leander questioned Bhupathi's commitment after the first match. There wasn't any reaction from Bhupathi. After the finals, which was a thriller of sorts where Bhupathi held on to seven match points and eventually won, he remarked "I have lived with these comments and soap opera for 12 years and it's enough". Both seem to admit that they don't want to pair up again even for Beijing Olympics.

Why can't these two put their country on top and get over their ego? Everytime, when these two talk, they say that its great to play for India, et cetera. But the moment they talk about each other, one can see a visible shift in their emotion and kind of distanced feeling. The problem may not be that great as it looks from outside. It could be due to few difference of opinion. Both are matured players and have come through various ranks since they started playing tennis from their early ages. Why can't they bloody sit, talk and sort out when they have their inner soul wanting to play for India? They still have 2-3 years of active tennis left and they can achieve a lot for Indian tennis if they stick together.

Whatever they have achieved for India looked meaningless. If they think that playing for country is the top priority, then what the hell prevents them from sorting out their ego problems.