Leander Paes will make it to his seventh Olympic Games after the All India Tennis Association on Saturday announced that that the veteran would partner Rohan Bopanna in the men's doubles at the Rio Games in August.
Controversies are affecting the Indian ace's performance, AITA Secretary General Anil Khanna said.
Leander Paes is set to return to the Indian Davis Cup squad after making himself available for the upcoming tie against Pakistan as the country's top players and non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi have refused to travel to the neighbouring nation, citing security concerns.
Divij Sharan, who was a reserve in the Indian Davis Cup team, has decided not to travel for the away tie against China, a move which may soon pave the way for introduction of a code of conduct for players.
India to host Italy on grass in Kolkata
Bopanna being the highest-ranked doubles player in the country is automatic choice for the doubles rubber.
Why did the AITA pair Sania Mirza with Rohan Bopanna for the mixed doubles at the Olympics?
Faced with a pullout threat from Leander Paes, the All India Tennis Association has sent one of its selectors to London to pacify the veteran who is miffed at not getting a partner of choice for the men's doubles event of the London Olympics.
Since Yuki Bhambri, ranked 94, is likely to make the cut for the US Open, the AITA selection committee exempted him.
Yuki Bhambri is aghast at being excluded from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) after preferring the US Open over Asian Games
Agreeing to the popular demand from players, the All Indian Tennis Association on Wednesday selected Delhi as venue for the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie against top seeds Czech Republic, to be held from September 18-20.
Indian tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi was named the new non-playing captain of the Davis Cup team and will take charge after the Asia/Oceania zone group I home tie against New Zealand in Pune from February 3 to 5. The tie against New Zealand will be Anand Amritraj's last tie as non-playing captain as AITA wants to give him a "farewell". Multiple Grand Slam winner Bhupathi was the hot favourite the moment AITA decided to replace Amritraj.
Leander Paes, the winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, will make his seventh Olympic appearance after he was named as Rohan Bopanna's partner for the men's doubles by the All India Tennis Association on Saturday.
In its last ditch effort to break the deadlock, the All India Tennis Association communicated all the offers with regard to playing conditions in writing to the rebel players and also asked for their availability for the upcoming tie against Indonesia.
It is learnt that Nagal was dropped from the Indian Davis Cup team because of disciplinary issues, which the 19-year-old has refuted.
The AITA selection committee, on Tuesday, decided to keep veteran Leander Paes in the five-member playing squad for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Croatia, making Divij Sharan the reserve member.
Miffed at not getting a 'specialist' men's doubles partner, veteran tennis star Leander Paes, on Thursday, pulled out of the 18th Asian Games starting on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu Tennis Association Vice President Karti Chidambaram says the top 5-6 players such as Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sumit Nagal, Dhakshineshwar Suresh and Nitin Sinha should be supported to travel with a common coach and trainer, play 26 tournaments, out of which at least 18 are abroad, train for 20 weeks and have six weeks of rest in a year.
Veteran tennis star Leander Paes was retained in the Indian Davis Cup team for next month's Asia/Oceania Zone tie against Uzbekistan.
Paes' inclusion under cloud as Indian team readies for a shake-up
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said the government will not have any say on whether India should participate in next month's Davis Cup tie in Pakistan as the event is not a bilateral engagement.
Surprised by the sacking of his elder brother as India's Davis Cup skipper, the legendary Vijay Amritraj says Anand Amritraj is the country's best captain in the last three decades and it is quite against the trend to remove a winning leader.
India's tennis star Rohan Bopanna picked young Saketh Myneni over the legendary Leander Paes as his choice of partner for the men's doubles event at the Rio Games, on Friday.
Rohit Rajpal will continue as India's non-playing captain. He took over as captain last year after the country's top players and then captain Mahesh Bhupathi refused to travel to Pakistan in November. India is scheduled to travel to Croatia for their next tie on March 6 and 7.
India's outgoing Davis Cup captain Anand Amritraj termed as bitter-sweet, the All India Tennis Association's (AITA) decision to hand him a farewell tie in February and predicted some tough time for the next man in charge, Mahesh Bhupathi. The AITA Executive Committee decided to give Amritraj one last tie as reports emerged recently that he will be asked to go on account of indiscipline in the Indian team. AITA did not give him the one-year term he had wished but has given Amritraj a chance to make a graceful exit for himself and he would like to go on a high by winning the tie against the Kiwis.
No Indian Davis Cup squad has travelled to Pakistan since March 1964 and in that tie, held in Lahore, India had won 4-0.
Top doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi has opted out of India's Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan next month to allow tour partner Rohan Bopanna pair with Leander Paes, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) announced on Tuesday.
A clear picture on Leander Paes' participation at the London Olympics is unlikely to emerge before June 28, when ITF will reveal whether Sania Mirza has been given a wild card.
Caught in a dilemma over competing in the Asian Games or the WTA tournaments which clash with the event, Sania Mirza on Sunday, decided to let the All India Tennis Association take a call on her participation in the continental extravaganza in Incheon, Korea.
The winners of the Heart Awards will be determined by online voting by fans which will go live on May 1 and will go on until May 8.
The AITA has appointed former Davis Cupper Anand Amritraj as the new non-playing captain of the Davis Cup team, which will take on Chinese Taipei in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie next year.
India's Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi on Thursday defended the selection of N Sriram Balaji ahead of higher-ranked Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja for the tie against Serbia.
India will field a second-string tennis contingent in this month's Asian Games after allowing frontline players, including Leander Paes and Sania Mirza, to play on the professional tours instead to revive their rankings.
Senior player Rohan Bopanna pulled out of India's upcoming tie against Pakistan due to a shoulder injury, paving the way for Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan's inclusion in the playing squad.
A total of 24 teams will play in the knockout Qualifiers on February 1 and 2 to decide which 12 teams will play the year-end Finals.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Ankita is now country's best-ranked singles (182) and doubles (95) player and is set to make her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games next month.
The November 29-30 contest has already been rescheduled once, owing to security concerns raised by India.
Yuki, ranked 93, has told AITA that if he gets direct entry into the last Grand Slam of the season, he won't be available.
Somdev Devvarman has asserted that their collective refusal to play in Davis Cup does not potray India and its tennis players in bad light and the "revolt is one of the most remarkable things" that has happened in Indian sport.
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