Don’t mix Tibet issue with Olympics: Paes

Indian Davis Cup captain Leander Paes will soon earn the rare honour of participating in the Olympics for the fifth time when he plays in Beijing in August.

On Wednesday, Paes, who would be carrying the Olympic torch, said that political reasons would not force him to boycott the event. “The Olympics are dear to my heart and I have been invited to carry the torch. Whether I accept it or not, you would know soon,” Paes said.

“We have to recognise that there is a difference between the Olympic movement and the Tibetan movement. Mixing them is not correct. The Games are most important,” he said.

“When my father (Vece Paes) collected his medal in Munich in 1972, the Israeli-Palestinian situation had developed.

“But that didn’t stop anything. So that’s the whole point, these (Tibet and Olympics) are two different issues.”