'Bhupathi and Paes should have sorted out differences'

Chess world champion Viswanathan Anand on Thursday said that Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi should have sorted out their issues much ahead of the Olympics instead of washing their dirty linen in public just ahead of the London Games.

Terming the bitter tennis selection row an unpleasant episode, the five-time chess world champion said, "They should have made some efforts to finish this much earlier and not bring it up in public when there's a deadline to submit the teams.

"They have disagreements and that's normal in a sport. But they should have done it much ahead and done it quietly when there's time. It's unpleasant," Anand said.

Anand was optimistic about medal chances in badminton, athletics and shooting. 

"I hope we get more than last time (Beijing 2008). There are certain sports like badminton, athletics and shooting wherein we have reasonable chances to get medals. Maybe in tennis as well," Anand added.

He said the the London-bound athletes should keep their focus firm.

"Wishing them is easy. You just wish them good luck and that's it. I don't have 40 tips or something. Hope they are not sitting and listening to messages. It's a bit scary. 

"I really hope they are practising seriously and not worrying about all that. They should really cut themselves off and focus on Olympics." 

The build up to the Games has been far from ideal as the players were busy squabbling over who will pair whom.

Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna refused to pair up with Paes, who was then asked by AITA to team up with lower-ranked Vishnu Vardhan.