India’s best Davis Cup players clinched the ‘united we stand’ motto and presently expect to ride on this binding happiness further. They are highly confident and free from any pressure for their vital match against Indonesia in the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup which is going to occur at this weekend.
The Indonesians are led by their well known player Christopher Rungkat who toiled under the scorching sun to score a tough tie whereas the Indian players included Sanam Singh, Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri who enjoyed some leisure by playing football at the KSLTA courts on Wednesday.
Somdev narrated that they were all pumped up and looking good. Last night they went bowling and their team defeated Sanam's team. He assured that things are going well and there is definitely no animosity. Non-playing captain SP Misra explained that Leander Paes was absent from the team and team’s evening press conference due to personal emergency. After sometime it was known that the veteran had flown to Mumbai to participate in his daughter Aiyana’s birthday. Mishra added that he has practiced for two days and will be back tonight.
Regarding the team’s latest failure, Somdev clarified that the respect the players have for Paes is still strong. He added that it is not like they have met only at the Davis Cup. They have been seeing each other at other tournaments as well. They have talked and have a lot of respect for each other as players. According to him, Paes is aware of the fact that why he took stand last time and he himself know his reasons. He insisted that just because there is a difference of opinion that does not mean that any respect or solidarity is lost. They still think highly about him and his credentials speak for it.
The 70-year-old Misra explained that they played the last tie against Korea without top players and if they had the full squad, they could have won. They are going to take it as another Davis Cup tie and will try to win it and climb up again. He completely denied the talk of pressure ahead of the relegation tie. He observed that their apex player Rungkat is world no. 250 while Sanam and Yuki have defeated him in the past. Other players are ranked much lower and they have beaten Indonesia five times so far. Misra will step down as captain after this tie.
