2014 Asian Games: The Indian tennis squad looks formidable ahead of the games
A 12 member squad selected by the All India Tennis Association (AITA), led by Leander Paes and Sania Mirza will participate in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon,South Korea beginning from September 19th to October 4th. Top draw Somdev Devvarman will look to repeat his performance from the 2010 Asian Games of bagging gold at both the Men’s Singles and the Men’s Doubles events in Guangzhou. As a team,the Indian Men will be looking to better their 3rd place finish with a bronze medal from last time around. Anand Amritraj will be the captain of the Men’s team, while Sania’s mother Nasima will be at the helm of the Women’s team.
The Men’s and Women’s team events will start on the 20th and the medals will be decided on the 24th in the final clash. Whereas the individual events will commence from the 25th with the final results of the singles and doubles events unfolding on the 29th and 30th of September.
Devvarman,Bopanna,Sanam Singh,Myneni and Bhambri will be a part of the Indian team that will take on Serbia in the upcoming Davis Cup play-off round from 12th-14th September, before the Asian Games kick off.
The members of the team for the 2014 Asian Games include:
?1. Leander Paes (Men’s Doubles) – Cur Rank :12 Best Rank :1
Singles Bronze at 1996 Atlanta Olympics. 8 career Grand Slam doubles titles including Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open and US Open. Gold in men’s doubles and mixed doubles at 2006 Asian Games.?
2. Sania Mirza (Women's Doubles) - Cur Rank :5 Best Rank :5
20 Women’s Doubles titles. Winner of Mixed Doubles titles at French Open (2012) and Australian Open (2009). Silver in mixed & bronze in singles at 2010 Asian Games. Gold in mixed , Silver in singles and women’s team at 2006 Asian Games.
3. Somdev Devvarman (Men’s Singles) – Cur Rank :143 Best Rank :62
Gold in men’s singles and doubles at 2010 Asian Games. Gold Medalist at Commonwealth games 2010.
4. Rohan Bopanna (Men’s Doubles) – Cur Rank :29 Best Rank :3
10 Career titles including ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris in 2011 and 2012.
5. Sanam Singh (Men’s Doubles) – Cur Rank :187 Best Rank :187
Gold in men’s doubles at 2010 Asian Games.
6. Ankita Raina (Women’s Singles) – Cur Rank :292 Best Rank :262
4 Singles and 5 doubles ITF titles.
7.Yuki Bhambri (Men’s Singles) – Cur Rank :151 Best Rank :143
Former Junior No:1. Winner of ATP Challengers at Fergana-2012, Traralgon-2013 and Chennai-2014.?
8. Prarthana Thombare (Women’s Singles) – Cur Rank :335 Best Rank :335
Winner of singles in ITF Chennai in April, 2014. 3 Singles and 6 doubles ITF titles.
9. Saketh Myneni (Men’s Doubles) – Cur Rank :191 Best Rank :174
Winner of singles in India F2 in March, 2014.?
10. Rishika Sunkara (Women’s Doubles) - Cur Rank :498 Best Rank :375
1 Singles and 4 Doubles ITF titles.
11. Natasha Palha (Women’s Singles) – Cur Rank :501 Best Rank :501
4 ITF women’s doubles titles.
12. Sneha Devi Reddy (Women’s Singles) – Cur Rank :995 Best Rank :995
Junior National Champion.