Leander Paes to return for Asian Games while Yuki Bhambri opts to play the US Open

06/04/2018

Leander Paes is slated to make a return to the Indian tennis squad for the Asian Games while top ranked Indian singles player Yuki Bhambri reveals he would prefer to play in the US Open. The AITA selection committee will meet today to announce the Asian Games squad.

Indian veteran player, Leander Paes, is one of the oldest players to have ever won a Grand Slam title and is widely regarded as one the best doubles and mixed players to have played the game in the past decade. He has won eight doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles over the course of a career spanning almost 27 years.

The Indian stalwart is set to make a comeback to the Indian squad to travel to Indonesia for the upcoming Asian Games as per PTI sources. However, India’s current top-ranked singles player - Yuki Bhambri might not be a part of the squad as he confessed that he would prefer to play the US Open if he makes the cut.

Bhambri, ranked 93 in ATP rankings, had told AITA that if he got direct entry into the last Grand Slam of the season, he won't be available for the Asian Games. The youngster was not willing to commit his availability for the Asian Games since the tennis event in Indonesia will end just before the US Open, which could hamper his recovery ahead of the US Grand Slam.

The AITA selection committee are scheduled to meet today after which they will announce the squad for the upcoming games. Sources told PTI former Davis Cup captain, Paes, who wasn’t part of the Indian squad for the last two editions of the tournament had confirmed his availability this year along with most of the leading men's and women's singles players, which included the likes of Rohan Bopanna and Ankita Raina as well.

For now, Yuki’s participation in the tournament is still unknown but AITA is bound to send the names of Indian squad members to the organisers by June 15. The doubles players can play both Asian Games and US Open as the doubles event will begin later in the first week of the US Open.

The AITA selection committee, led by SP Misra, will ponder over this decision today and in case Yuki is not picked, Ramkumar Ramanathan (121) and Prajnesh Gunneswaran (183) will be the other two replacements for the men's singles based on their rankings.

Thiem, Nadal & more playing NOW! Predict their match & WIN CASH!
Join & Play NOW! Click here here to download Nostra Pro & get ₹40 Joining Bonus!
Win Cash Daily on NostraGamus! Just predict the right result for ANY Sports Match. Click here download the game on Android! To know more, visit Nostragamus.in

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all