BEIJING (AFP) — India's Leander Paes shrugged off his Beijing disappointment and set his sights on playing at the London Olympics in 2012 in what would be his sixth Games.
Paes and on-off partner Mahesh Bhupathi lost 6-2, 6-4 to Roger Federer and Stanilas Wawrinka in the men's doubles quarter-finals here, a shattering defeat for the duo on Indian Independence Day.
Paes will be almost 40 by the time the next Olympics rolls around but he refuses to write off his chances of taking part.
"It's something I'm aiming for. There are a few athletes at these Olympics who are 40-plus. I'm 35 now, there's no reason why at 39, which is what I'll be at the next Games, I can't do it," said Paes.
"One of my goals has been the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. I've only played four Asian Games. I missed one because of a wrist injury. I'm aiming for a fifth one in two years time.
"It's just about keeping my body fit, keeping up my enthusiasm for tennis. I think the quality of tennis we are playing is high quality and it shows. There's no reason why I can't come back for a sixth Olympics."
Whether or not Bhupathi will be alongside him in 2012 is up for question.
The duo have enjoyed a famously fractious relationship in recent years after a series of high-profile splits which have overshadowed their record of three Grand Slam titles and four Olympic appearances.
"It's four years. It's very hard to plan ahead," admitted Bhupathi. "If you are going to ask me what I'm going to do in 2012, I don't really know what I'm going to do next year right now."
Despite his reticence to commit to the 2012 Olympics, Bhupathi has not ruled out an appearance at the next Commonwealth Games which will be staged on home soil in New Delhi in 2010.
"As long as both of us are healthy, in two years' time, I'm pretty sure we'll be trying to win Commonwealth gold. The Games are at home so it will be very exciting for us."
Meanwhile, the Indian pair dismissed suggestions they lacked "chemistry" on court in their defeat to the Swiss duo.
"It's too bad, because we felt it. We felt the chemistry. We've been feeling it since we arrived in Beijing," Bhupathi said.
"If you guys couldn't see it, that's really, you know, too bad."
Paes snapped at a reporter: "You saw what you saw, mate. I'm not going to compete with you. Whatever you saw you saw."
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