Paes quits as India's Davis Cup captain

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Leander Paes has resigned as Davis Cup captain after failing in his bid to win an Olympic medal alongside feuding partner Mahesh Bhupathi, the national federation said on Tuesday.

The former world number one pair were knocked out in the Beijing quarter-finals by Switzerland's Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, the eventual Olympic champions.

The All India Tennis Association said in a news release that Paes had told the governing body after their defeat at the Games in China that he was quitting as captain.

Paes, a Davis Cup regular for 17 years, has been named in the squad for the World Group playoff in Romania from Sept. 19.

Sumant Misra, a member of the team that reached what was then called the Challenge Round in 1966, has been named as non-playing captain for the tie in Bucharest.

The squad also includes Bhupathi, the promising Somdev Devvarman and Prakash Amritraj.

The exit of Paes is the latest twist in his feud with Bhupathi, the pair having developed serious differences since they claimed three grand slam titles together eight years ago.

In February, Bhupathi and his Davis Cup team mates made an unsuccessful demand to have Paes removed as captain. He was also reluctant to team up with Paes for the Olympics, unhappy they were not playing together on the ATP Tour in the build-up.

However, India's tennis officials persuaded the duo to make a final bid for an Olympic medal.