Germany beat Canada 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Davis Cup semi-finals where they will face the Netherlands who advanced with a stunning upset of hosts Spain.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) selection panel picked a five-member squad in which Mukund will be the highest-ranked singles player at number 368.
Sasikumar Mukund returned to Davis Cup action with a fluent straight-sets victory over lower-ranked Liova Ayite Ajavon, putting India ahead 1-0 in the World Group I play-off tie against Togo, in New Delhi, Saturday.
According to Mr Babar, within four days of this interview the Mumbai terror attack was underway, bringing the two countries closest to war in years -- 'The warmongers shattered Zardari's dream of peace with India'.
Defending champions Italy moved into the Davis Cup final after a 2-0 win over Australia on Saturday as Jannik Sinner defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets to follow up Matteo Berrettini's victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Singles wins for Botic Van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor sparked a party amongst an army of orange-clad Dutch fans inside the Jose Maria Martin Carpena arena.
Jannik Sinner spearheaded Italy's charge towards a second successive Davis Cup title with a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final at the southern Spanish city of Malaga on Sunday.
Sasikumar Mukund, who was banned by AITA on disciplinary grounds, is back as India's best-ranked player for the World Group I Play-off tie against Togo, starting on Saturday.
Alex Michelsen hung on to defeat Tung-Lin Wu and help the United States take a 2-0 lead against Taiwan in the Davis Cup qualifier in Taipei City on Friday.
N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli sealed India's place in the Davis Cup World Group I with a convincing straight sets victory in the doubles for an unassailable 3-0 lead against Togo in the play-off tie in New Delhi on Sunday.
Small things were changed in the Indian Davis Cup set-up for the tie against Togo and it was evident that they made a difference.
Barcelona dropped their first points in LaLiga this season as Rayo Vallecano fought back to secure a 1-1 draw at home to the champions.
India will take on Sweden on hard indoor court in Stockholm from September 14-15.
Australia booked their place in the Davis Cup semi-finals as doubles pair Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson clinched the deciding rubber against the United States on Thursday.
India will play against Togo in the Davis Cup World Group I Play-offs to be held between January 31 and February 2 next year, according to the draw conducted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in London on Monday.
India's non-playing Davis Cup captain Rohit Rajpal on Saturday clarified that his "shut-up" remark was meant for a few "agenda-driven" people consistently targeting him and was not directed at the country's tennis community as has been projected.
'Every parent should rethink their decisions to send their children to the US.'
Dr Vece Paes, a member of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games bronze-winning Indian men's hockey team and father of legendary tennis player Leander Paes, died in Kolkata on Thursday morning.
Australia now have the opportunity to avenge last year's final defeat by Italy after world number one Jannik Sinner inspired the holders to a 2-1 victory over Argentina.
N Sriram Balaji was easily tamed by Elias Ymer, while Ramkumar Ramanathan went down to a lower-ranked Leo Borg as India were left trailing 0-2 against Sweden in the Davis Cup World Group I tie.
Nagal reached a career-high ranking of 68 in July but has dropped to 82 in the latest rankings. India's highest-ranked singles player's absence for the Davis Cup tie is a big blow to the team.
Leander Paes emulated his father Vece Paesby winning the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Tuesday suggested that the country's top player Sumit Nagal perhaps deliberately missed the Davis Cup tie against Sweden last week
Olympic medallist Dr Vece Paes was a part of the BCCI's anti-doping programme for several years, besides also working with the Indian Davis Cup team.
The World No 1, who extended his hardcourt winning streak to 26 matches, will play against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals.
Ramkumar Ramanathan and N Sriram Balaji could play well only in patches to lose the do-or-die doubles against Andre Goransson and Filip Bergevi.
'Even though I'm just 31, I feel like I've seen a lot in my life, some voluntarily, some involuntarily.'
A summary of Friday's action in the Davis Cup group stage matches.
Canada began their Davis Cup Finals campaign in confident fashion as wins for Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime assured them of victory
Canada are close to securing a place in the Davis Cup final Eight after a commanding 3-0 victory over Finland while Australia cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic
In the women's competition, Minakshi began her campaign with a clean 5-0 win over Australia's Madeleine Bowen in the light flyweight division, while Muskan edged England's Kerry Davis 3-2 in a closely contested middleweight category bout.
Dr. Vece Paes laid to rest as Ganguly, Tirkey join mourners in funeral procession
For the second consecutive Davis Cup tie, India are relying on doubles specialist N Sriram Balaji to do the singles duty
Novak Djokovic says that defending his Olympic title at LA 2028
Canada powered into the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup for the third straight year with a victory over Britain on Sunday.
Jannik Sinner beat defending champion and Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz to win his first Wimbledon title.
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.
India has never beaten Sweden in five attempts in the Davis Cup.
'We're witnessing a consistent surge in audience demand for IMAX screenings, particularly for high-octane, spectacle-driven films.'
Govt's new sports policy to encourage Indian-origin athletes abroad to represent country
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