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.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Tuesday hit out at its vice-president Karti P Chidambaram for questioning the Davis Cup team selection and asked why he did not raise the issue when he was the chairman of the Davis Cup Committee.
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.
'I do understand Rohan is disappointed for not getting the award, but it was because he did not meet the criteria for the award in 2016. He should see the criteria before making any comment'
The Indian Davis Cupper has been selected for the coveted lifetime achievement award of the International Tennis Federation.
India's top two singles players Sumit Nagal and Sasi Kumar Mukund have conveyed to the national tennis federation that they won't travel to Pakistan for the next Davis Cup tie.
Doubles exponent Rohan Bopanna retained his place in India's Davis Cup team despite his recent run-in with the national federation, which named a five-member squad for the upcoming World Group I away tie against Finland.
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.
An already depleted India suffered another blow on Saturday with Rohan Bopanna pulling out of the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie against Spain, claiming that he suffered a knee injury during the US Open.
AITA usually names five-member squad apart from one or two reserve players.
AITA on sticky wicket after shift in venue
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.
Seeking to clear the air around the negative perception created following comments of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza, the AITA put on record how it aggressively pursued the case of Bopanna and Divij Sharan for entry into the Tokyo Olympics.
'The SGM shall be a hybrid meeting as per Article 8.3 of the Constitution of the IOA. Those who are unable to join the meeting physically, can join the meeting through Webex for which the online link would be available on the website of the IOA.'
Bopanna being the highest-ranked doubles player in the country is automatic choice for the doubles rubber.
Rohan Bopanna and Sumit Nagal have secured their Paris Olympics 2024 quotas for India
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.
Bopanna is justified in picking a partner of his choice since rules permit him to do so, but at the same time it holds true that even if Bopanna had ended up at No. 11 in the world rankings on the cut-off date, he and Paes, with their combined ranking, would have made the draw by a margin if not comfortably.
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.
Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal has withdrawn from the country's upcoming away Davis Cup tie against Finland citing a hip injury and has been replaced by Saketh Myneni in the five-man squad for the indoor contest on September 18-19.
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Paralympic star Kumar Nitesh cites BAI apathy, wants badminton to be placed under PCI as para shuttlers needed to be treated on par with their able-bodied counterparts.
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.
'The law is neither able nor willing to function the way the legal machinery is envisaged.'
'They are behaving according to their convenience. They have no right to ask question on areas which are outside players' domain. Their job is to play. Who is he (Bopanna) to ask such questions? There is (AITA) administration to look into these matters'
Why did the AITA pair Sania Mirza with Rohan Bopanna for the mixed doubles at the Olympics?
India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu were on Tuesday picked for this year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the sports ministry's selection committee.
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.
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.
Mahesh Bhupathi said he has no 'personal agenda' in keeping Leander Paes out of India's Davis Cup team and said his former partner's decision to leave Bangalore mid-way into the tie was a final nail in the coffin.
The Sports Ministry dropped para-sports coach Satyanarayana from the list of this year's Dronacharya awardees due to a criminal case pending against him, but made no changes to the names recommended for the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards.
40-year-old Sharath showed that age was just a number.
Union Sports Secretary Injeti Srinivas on Saturday made it clear that Saketh Myneni is "no less deserving" than Rohan Bopanna for the prestigious Arjuna award despite questions being raised about his merit.
In an embarrassment to India, the country has been warned of heavy penalty by the Olympic Council of Asia if it withdraws from sending teams in a few disciplines in the upcoming Asian Games, a development which led to the IOA slamming some government officials for "ruining sport".
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.
AITA won't force any player to travel to Pakistan and is willing to send even a second-string team to avoid suspension
Age-fudging has been a big problem in Indian sports
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.
Defending Nagal, who has been dropped from the team for the upcoming New Zealand tie due to serious breach of discipline, and criticising AITA for publicly humiliating the player, Devvarman wrote in an open letter in the Indian Express that AITA could have dealt with the player privately.
Paes' inclusion under cloud as Indian team readies for a shake-up
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