London, June 21 (IBNS) Tennis stars Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna said they were delighted to have been nominated as a team to the men's doubles event of the London Games.

"The events of the last few days have been extremely challenging for all concerned, but we respect them as necessary steps in this process," the duo said in a joint statement. 

"In making each of our decisions, we were guided by our strong convictions regarding what we believed was fair and we are pleased that this is reflected in the outcome. We are greatly appreciative of the support we have received from across the world.

"We are excited that we will be playing together at the Olympics and our sole focus is now on our team's preparations for the Games," the statement read.

Bhupathi said he refused to play with Leander Paes because he was not interested in just playing in the Olympics but in doing well.

"The last four times we did play but we didn't win. Hopefully, a new combination will work out and we can do something different. I hope I can put my money where my mouth is."

"There have been a lot of twists and turns and lot of phone calls being made (over the past few days), but I am glad that two teams are going and four of us get to experience the Olympics and give it a good shot."

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Thursday bowed down to players' pressure and decided to send two men's doubles teams at the London Olympics.

Mahesh Bhupathi will team up with Rohan Bopanna while Leander Paes will pair up with Vishnu Vardhan.