NEWS
SCHEDULES
COLUMNS
PREVIOUS TOURS
OTHER SPORTS
STATISTICS
INTERVIEWS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Rediff Shopping

Shop & gift from thousands of products!   Books     Music       Apparel   Jewellery   Flowers   More..      Safe Shopping

Leander, Mahesh may team up for World Doubles

Indian tennis stars Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi may play together in the World Tennis Doubles Championship in Bangalore, thanks to the efforts of the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association.

"Mahesh is willing to play with Leander in the championship. The KSLTA has written to Leander two days ago seeking his opinion on playing in the championship," his father and KSLTA programme committee Chairman C G Krishna Bhupathi said.

Krishna Bhupathi said, "It is for Leander to decide. I hope he will give a serious thought. I want both of them to play together."

The pair is likely to be given a wild card as the eighth entry in the championship, to be played in December this year.

While Bhupathi has been busy playing tournaments, Paes has been resting because of an injury, which will keep him out of action for nearly three months.

But the pair, which has not competed together after last year's World Tennis Doubles Championship at Hartford, will be representing India at the Sydney Olympics.

On the KSLTA getting the chance to host the tournament, Krishna Bhupathi said it was an opportunity to promote the game in the country and everyone had to work together to make it a success.

Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna, who is also the president of the KSLTA, has expressed happiness at Bangalore being selected for the championship. "I am naturally happy. It is a great thing as the World Championships will be moving out of Hartford, Connecticut, USA, for the first time in five years. The event will give a boost to the game in India and Karnataka."

Krishna has invited Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha for the signing of the agreement. Krishna and Vijay Amritraj on behalf of the Association of Tennis Professionals will be signing the agreement for the championship on July 18.

KSLTA secretary Sunderraj said they clinched the bid because they had the backing of the state government. Besides, they had presented a good team. Also, the ATP observer was impressed with the facilities available at the KSLTA's stadium, though some modifications will have to be carried out to meet the championship's standards.

UNI