India's seven-time Olympian Leander Paes says only the best should represent the country.
Veterans Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan made a winning start at the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban on Sunday.
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.
Indian tennis stars have so far enjoyed mixed fortune at the ongoing US Open in New York.
'It'll also be difficult for him, tennis requires that competitive rhythm, but Rafa is Rafa, even if he arrives without many matches, he'll surely show a spectacular level.'
In the 18 years that she has been on tour, Sania Mirza was the standard-bearer for tennis in the country. Never before had an Indian player dominated from the back court with such conviction. Deepti Patwardhan Salutes the Incomparable Sania Mirza.
Yellow seems to be the choice of tennis players this season, from skirts, shorts and sneakers.
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the ATP Masters event at Indian Wells but Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna suffered a shock first round defeat.
IMAGES from the first Test played between South Africa and India in Centurion on Tuesday
Malik was named 'Player of the Match' for his smashing half-ton.
India's non-playing Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi, who was to be part of the conference call, informed that the discussions have been postponed by a day.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.'
'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.'
Shoaib Malik is spending time with his wife and child who he has not met for seven months due to the COVID-19 crisis.
'All the venues are high-scoring venues. So what you need is pace.' 'You really want someone to come there and control the flow of runs in the death overs, whether you are setting a target or setting a target.' 'It is going to be the fast bowlers because at how many venues have you seen spinners bowling the death overs?'
The Sports Ministry slammed organisers of the Australian Open, saying they have wrongfully denied Indian tennis player Aman Dahiya an opportunity to compete in the junior Grand Slam by rejecting his application for vaccine exemption.
'If his father and brother were alive today, they would be brimming with joy. This is the life's most memorable day and only few are lucky to see it. I'm the proudest mom on this earth.'
German tennis star Angelique Kerber, who has surged back to the world number one ranking by virtue of Serena Williams' injury, has said that the top spot is not really important for her.
A defiant Rafael Nadal won an all-Spanish clash of the generations taming teenager Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to stretch his winning run to 20 matches on Saturday and clinch a place in the Indian Wells final. He will take on American Taylor Fritz in Sunday's championship in the California desert where a victory would see the 35-year-old equal Novak Djokovic's record of 37 ATP Masters 1000 titles.
World men's No.7 Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong believes that the Ultimate Table Tennis league, which will begin from July 13, will benefit the sport in India.
Bopanna was playing the US Open final for the second time in his career and this time as the oldest player at 43.
Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, are a handful of contenders ready to swoop in
Counter-puncher Sumit Nagal blunted the challenge of big-serving Beibit Zhukayev with his perseverance while Ankita Raina outgunned Adithya P Karunaratne without fuss as the two Indians inched closer to singles medals.
Manika Batra has lost her baggage containing sports equipment, while returning home from a tournament in Peru
Somdev Devvarman created history by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in the men's singles tennis event of the Asian Games after outplaying top seed and world number 44 Denis Istomin 6-1, 6-2 in the lop-sided summit clash in Guangzhou on Tuesday.
The sorry state of American men's tennis will continue for some time with no real talent on the horizon, said Pete Sampras who dominated the game in the 1990s with fellow American Andre Agassi.
Yuvraj Singh jokingly said he and Paes could become a good retired doubles partner if the former is looking for one.
Buys team in electric powerboat series.
A stellar season thus far has propelled the 43-year-old into the top 15.
Mouma Das' Olympic appearance was short-lived as the Indian veteran lost to higher-ranked Romanian, Daniela Dodean Monteiro, in the first round of the women's singles table tennis competition in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. World No.150 Das failed to put up much of a fight against her 58th-ranked opponent losing 2-11, 7-11, 7-11, 2-11.
Sumit Antil clinched a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games javelin throw F64 event with a world record effort of 73.29m.
If Nagal, a wild card entrant and world number 139, can cross the first hurdle, he will run into either 19th seed Russian Karen Khachanov or local wild card Aleksandar Vukic.
Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar has set his sights on a long stint with the Indian team.
Malik is married to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza. The two sports stars have a three-year old son, Izhaan.
Manika Batra has absolutely got the fashion memo right.
Sumit Nagal brought himself recognition after taking a set off Roger Federer in the opening round match of the US Open, which he eventually lost 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. However, Haryana lad said he has yet not been approached by any new sponsors.
Indian Wells organisers said on Tuesday that world number two Novak Djokovic had been placed in the tournament's draw but it was unclear if the Serbian would be permitted to enter the United States.
While Sharath lost on Monday, Sathiyan could not do much against the mighty world number nine Dang Qiu of Germany, losing 6-11, 6-11, 5-11, 7-11 on Tuesday.
Former World champion Peter Karlsson said that India has the potential to be a top nation in table tennis and the next 10-15 years will augur well for the sport in the country.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances