Sania Mirza, who got a wild card entry for the Olympics, indicated she has no problem in partnering Leander Paes in the mixed doubles event in London but hit out at the AITA for using her as a "bait" in the selection row.
A furious Mahesh Bhupathi lashed out at the All India Tennis Association, calling his pairing with Leander Paes for the London Olympics the 'worst possible in the interest of the country'. Bhupathi was also furious that the AITA chose not to send two teams for the mega event, saying the decision has something 'more to it than meets the eye'.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna are likely to face the axe for insisting on playing as a team, as the All India Tennis Association selection committee, it seems, has decided to send just one combination for the men's doubles at the Olympics, with Leander Paes being the first choice.
AITA secretary Anil Khanna asked Mahesh Bhupathi to keep the country's interest in mind while making it clear that only 'the best' team, which has already been announced, will be sent to the Beiging Games.
The crisis that has rocked Indian tennis deepened on Monday, with Rohan Bopanna officially snubbing the All India Tennis Association's offer to pair with Leander Paes in the men's doubles at the London Olympics.
Former Wimbledon champion, Goran Ivanisevic, former Britain No 1, Tim Henman and Dan Bloxham, Head Coach at The All England Lawn tennis Club, Wimbledon, mentored a group of 25 budding tennis talents at a coaching camp in New Delhi on Thursday.
All India Tennis Association (AITA) will stick to the young Indian side and will not include Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna in the Davis Cup squad until the country moves up from the Asia/Oceania Group.
It has sought the ITF's approval to field the US-born Indian.
The star-studded TPL auction saw the presence of the tennis icons Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza, who gathered together after many years to promote the sport, along with Bollywood celebs Rakul Preet Singh and Sonali Bendre.
The crisis in Indian tennis deepened on Friday, with the revolting players threatening to pull out of the upcoming Davis Cup tie against South Korea unless the AITA discusses their "legitimate" suggestions to improve the system.
The last time an Indian Davis Cup team travelled to Pakistan was way back in 1964.
The freezing cold made the conditions challenging for the players.
Hauling itself up from World Group II should not be a complicated task for India when it takes on an unostentatious Morocco in the home tie, which will be more of a celebration of Rohan Bopanna's Davis Cup career.
Zeeshan Ali will take over as India's non-playing captain, exactly 60 years after his father Akhtar Ali had played a key role in the country's Davis Cup victory in Pakistan in 1964.
'Right from 2002, making my debut and 22 years later still getting to represent India. I'm extremely proud of that.'
India were on Thursday drawn to meet Sweden in an away Davis Cup World Group I tie in September.
The Indian Davis Cup squad will travel to Pakistan for the first time since 1964. India defeated Pakistan 4-0 in their most recent neutral site match in 2019.
AITA names five-member Indian team for Davis Cup World Group 1 play-off away tie against Denmark
'India's Davis Cup tie will now be played on September 14-15'
Rohan Bopanna revealed that he will bring curtains down on his Davis Cup career when the country hosts Morocco in September
The Indian team had been relegated to the World Group II after losing 2-3 to Denmark in the World Group Play-Off earlier this year.
Sumit Nagal has been dropped from the five-member Indian Davis Cup team for the World Group 1 play-off tie against Denmark in New Delhi next month.
The Indian youngsters were rewarded for their good form as they were named in India's Billie Jean King Cup squad.
Davis Cup: Strong Indian team is firm favourite against Pakistan in historic clash
Indian Davis Cup team capped its historic visit to Pakistan after 60 years by sealing its place in World Group I as it blanked Pakistan 4-0 with Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni recording a comfortable victory and Niki Poonacha making a winning debut, in Islamabad on Sunday.
A bomb disposal squad will sanitise the Islamabad Sports Complex every morning, and two escort vehicles will shadow the Indian Davis Cup team during its travel as part of multi-layer security arrangement, which is usually accorded to the Head of State, to ensure the visiting tennis players' safety and security.
The top-seeded Indian pair of Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni rallied from a set down to beat Christopher Rungkat and Akira Santillan and win the Bangkok Open title, their sixth together on the ATP Challenger Tour, in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Saturday.
AITA pairs him with Bopanna, withdraws Sharan
It's a historical tie, we will benefit from India team's visit: Pakistan tennis fraternity
The Davis Cup tie will be held either on September 16-17 or 17-18 while tennis event at the Asian Games are scheduled to be held from September 10-14.
'They should come to Pakistan. It's not fair that they do not come to Pakistan. The Indian team is much better than us. We have a beautiful hotel just across the stadium. If Indians come it will send a good message that we are good neighbours.'
The Indian tennis team has written to All India Tennis Association (AITA) expressing reluctance to travel to Pakistan for their Davis Cup clash scheduled to be held next month.
The Indian Davis Cup team was relegated to the World Group II for the first time since the new format was launched in 2019 after losing the play-off tie 2-3 to Denmark.
N Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan of India, who were entered in the main draw as alternates, were defeated 6-3, 6-4 by Ilya Ivashka and Alexei Popyrin of Australia in the opening round.
India's hopes of winning a gold from the tennis courts is still alive with the mixed team reaching the title clash
The defeat will rankle the Indian pair all the more as Bopanna is a top-10 player in doubles while Bhambri too is ranked among the top-100. The Uzbekis are not even in the top-300.
AITA said it had come up with an intermediate plan with the support of the country's government to reduce some of the pain for the lower-level professionals. India is currently in lockdown till May 3 and it was assumed that travel restrictions would be lifted in the next two months, the AITA said.
The All India Tennis Association says an unflattering perception is being created about it in the wake of Mahesh Bhupathi's removal as captain when it actually selected Rohit Rajpal because the ITF, till the last moment, had not given the impression that it would move the Davis Cup tie out of Islamabad.
It left the players and the team management disappointed and after discussing the matter among themselves, they have decided to approach the federation.
Mahesh Bhupathi may not be considered again for the job as India's non-playing captain after he refused to be part of the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan.
