India File 8212; Harsh among Davis Cup probables

MUMBAI, July 29: Four Maharashtra tennis players, including former Junior National Champion Harsh Mankad, are among seven probables invited...

MUMBAI, July 29: Four Maharashtra tennis players, including former Junior National Champion Harsh Mankad, are among seven probables invited for trials to select the third and fourth players of the Indian Davis Cup team to play against Chile in the NEC World Group qualifying round at Delhi from September 19 to 21.

All-India Tennis Association secretary general, Mr Ramesh Desai told PTI today that national hard court champion Susheel Narla, Vasudev Reddy both from Andhra Pradesh, Prahalad Srinath Karnataka, National Grass Court Champion Nitin Kirtane, Sandeep Kirtane, Gaurav Natekar and Mankad all from Maharashtra have been called for the trials to be held in Delhi in the last week of August.

Olympic bronze medallist Leander Paes and French Open mixed doubles winner Mahesh Bhupathi are the number one and two players in the squad, Mr Desai added.

He said AITA has not received any intimation about Harsh Mankad, who was a member of the India A team against Sri Lanka, getting a direct entry into the US Open junior event slated for next month.

However, Harsh8217;s father and former Indian test star Ashok Mankad said his son had called up from the USA yesterday to confirm the news.

Mankad, who has just completed the International Tennis Federation-sponsored junior circuit covering five European countries, had missed Wimbledon narrowly.

He, however, collected enough points to enter the prestigious US Open junior event in which other Indians 8212; Ramesh Krishnan and Leander Paes 8212; have won.Mankad, who will play in the Philadelphia championship before the US Open, has also been invited by the All-India Tennis Association as one of the probables for the Davis Cup round against Chile to be played at New Delhi on September 19, 20 and 21.

Paes crashes

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MONTREAL: India8217;s ace Davis Cupper, Leander Paes lost to Jan Siemerink in straight sets in the opening round of the Du Maurier Canadian tennis tournament here yesterday.

The fifteenth seed Siemerink defeated Paes 6-3, 6-4 and despite Leander8217;s efforts to get back into the game the Dutchman did not loosen his grip on the match.

Assam champs

GUWAHATI: Hosts Assam today become the champion in the boy8217;s section of the 24th National sub-junior basketball championship defeating strong contender Punjab 49-34 in a tough encounter.

Earlier, in the girls section Madhya Pradesh girls lived upto expectation to beat Punjab girls 49-34