Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
The November 29-30 contest has already been rescheduled once, owing to security concerns raised by India.
Sumit Nagal had impressed on his Davis Cup debut against Spain not so long ago but the youngster has been dropped from the team for the upcoming New Zealand tie due to serious breach of discipline, the All India Tennis Asssociation sources claimed on Tuesday.
Paes was dropped from the tie against Uzbekistan last April. He has been out of favour since the Bengaluru fiasco when he was not included in the starting line-up by captain, Mahesh Bhupathi.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Taking inspiration from the roaring success of the Indian Premier League, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) has decided to launch a city franchise-based tennis league in November-December.
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 International Tennis Federation (ITF) on Monday agreed with the safety concerns in Islamabad, raised by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and moved the Nov 29-30 tie out of Pakistan's capital city.
The All India Tennis Association may be backing Leander Paes to the hilt in him making the squad for the Rio Olympics, but the veteran star will not be picked in the Davis Cup team despite showing late interest in competing in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie against Korea Republic next month.
This is Sania Mirza's first tournament since her return to the circuit after a two-year break.
India were today drawn to play New Zealand at home in their next Davis Cup tie in the Asia/Oceania Group I competition, which is scheduled for February 3-5. It was after beating New Zealand 3-2 in an away tie that India qualified for the World Group Play-offs in 2015 season. India are back in the Asia Oceania zone after being whitewashed by five-time champions Spain in the World Group play-off tie.
With Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman still recovering from their respective injuries, India is set to field same set to players in the upcoming Davis Cup World Group Play-off against Spain, that beat South Korea 4-1 in July.
'All Mahesh needed to do was send an e-mail to Leander that he was not being considered in final four and mark a copy to AITA'
In a moral victory for the All India Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation has given the AITA the right to host its next Davis Cup tie against Australia, which had forfeited its previous rubber on security grounds in May.
She was forced to partner Leander Paes during the 2012 Olympic Games in London but this time around World No. 1 doubles player Sania Mirza claimed she has 'conveyed' her decision to the All India Tennis Federation about her preferred mixed doubles partner at the Rio Games.
Dismissing Pakistan's review appeal, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced Kazakhstan's capital Nur-Sultan as the neutral venue for the tie.
'The best bet for Indian tennis to win a medal at the Olympics would be having Leander and Bopanna together.' Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com reveals how the AITA convinced Rohan Bopanna to partner Leander Paes in Rio,
The hard court of Chennai's Nungambakkam Tennis Centre will host the Davis Cup tie between India and Australia in May, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) said on Tuesday.
Rohan Bopanna was axed from the Davis Cup side since he pulled out of the Spain tie feigning injury, the All Indian Tennis Association sources claimed on Tuesday.
Former World No 1 in doubles and six-time Grand Slam champion Sania beat Indonesia's 16-year-old Priska Madelyn Nugroho for the award in Asia/Oceania regional category.
India is steadily moving forward in the highly competitive world of tennis and people need to be patient to see more results, especially in singles, says former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli. The 31-year-old was in the capital to launch the second edition of Rendez-vous, a tournament for Indian boys and girls to earn a wild card for the junior French Open. "It is a tremendous effort to promote Roland Garros, our Grand Slam. It's good to have these courts to understand the surface and technique. India is on the right path, you need to have patience. Everything has to be in place and AITA is doing a good job," Bartoli, who retired in 2013 and is now busy with her designing work, said.
The courts for the April 7-9 match are to be laid at the northern end of the hallowed cricket ground.
Looking back at the year 2016, Indian Davis Cupper Saketh Myneni says he is very happy with the progress he has made in the last eight to nine months.
'We did not want India to either default or forfeit this tie'
Harsh Mankad, included as a reserve player in the squad, had earlier demanded a guarantee of him playing in the tie.
Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan will lead the singles challenge, while Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan will make the doubles pair for the grass court tie.
"Wishing you all the best for your future endeavours, Ankita! Hope you continue making the nation proud. Many congratulations @ankita_champ ! #TOPSAthlete #SAI," the Sports Authority of India wrote on its Twitter handle.
India were on Tuesday pitted against European powerhouse Spain as their Davis Cup World Group play-off opponents for the home tie as the International Tennis Federation announced the draw in London.
The appointment was made after non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan asked not to consider him for the post in 2004.\n
India's former Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi on Thursday said he cannot get over the "hurt" caused by the national federation's manner of sacking him but it is hardly a surprise given how the body has dealt with players in the last two decades.
Rohan Bopanna returned to the country's Davis Cup squad after a two-year gap as AITA named a six-member team on Saturday, for the Asia/Oceania Group I contest against Chinese Taipei, starting January 31 in Indore.
Former Davis Cupper Jaideep Mukherjea was appointed president of the newly-formed Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA) while Leander Paes was surprisingly named as one of three vice presidents.
India will host five-time champions Spain on the hard courts of Delhi Lawn Tennis Association in the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie, scheduled for September 16-18.
Somdev Devvarman, who led the players' revolt against AITA, today said veterans Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupahti have provided useful ideas for the betterment of Indian tennis but only time will tell if those ideas will work.
India will host Uzbekistan on the hard courts of Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) in Bangalore when the two sides clash in an Asia Oceania Zone group I Davis Cup tie in April.
They might have signed peace with the All India Tennis Association but that has not stopped the disgruntled players, led by Somdev Devvarman, from forming the Indian Tennis Players Association to handle "contemporary issues" that have not been addressed by AITA.
Star player Sania Mirza has also joined Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA) as one of its Vice Presidents, it was revealed on Sunday.
The All India Tennis Association's efforts to include United States-based Prakash Amritraj in the Davis Cup squad and negate a boycott threat by its top players came to naught on Wednesday, with the Sports Ministry sticking to its policy that only Indian passport holders can represent the country.
In a first of its kind, the three-day Asia Oceania Davis Cup tie between India and Indonesia will be played under lights from April 5 to 7 at the KSLTA Tennis Stadium in Bangalore.
India was handed an easy draw for next year's Davis Cup campaign in Asia/Oceania Group I, pitted against Chinese Taipei in their first round tie.
