Rio Olympics: Leander Paes hits back, says travel plans were already known to the coach

New Delhi: India's Tennis ace Leander Paes has been hitting the news off late, firstly because of his reported refusal to share room with on-field partner Rohan Bopanna and then arriving late in Rio, where fellow tennis players have been practicing days before.

As reported by hindustantimes.com, Paes clarified the controversies by stating, "To start with, I spoke to Zeeshan just a few days ago from Washington where I was playing World Team Tennis (an intra-club league in the US). He knew all about my plans. Then, I have not said anything about not sharing with anyone, this is news to me."

When asked about the room sharing furore, he said, "I have all along said that I will stay in the village. I have no desire to stay anywhere else. I have absolutely no hassle in sharing my room with anyone. This fact can be easily cross-checked with the chef-de-mission Rakesh Gupta. I wonder why no one is bothering to do that before blaming me for stuff I haven’t even thought about, let alone done."

It sems as if misinformation was spread about the seven-time Olympian from the tennis camp. His relationship with Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza might take a further hit after this furore.

India will be hoping these off-field happenings will not affect the players' performance on-field and they will return with medals hanging on their necks.