SPORTS

French Open berths for Sharan, Liberhan

Source:PTI
May 21, 2004 20:35 IST

Divij Sharan and Tushar Liberhan will lead India's challenge at the French Open and Wimbledon junior championships this summer.

Eighteen-year old Divij and Tushar, 16, are part of the five-member boys and girls' team, sponsored by the All India Tennis Association, which embarks on a six-week tour of Europe on Friday.

The team -- also comprising Rupesh Roy, Sanaa Bhambri and Tara Iyer and coached by Arun Kumar -- will play three Grade 1 and a Grade 4 events besides the two Grade A Grand Slams.

While Divij and Tushar, with a combined ITF ranking of 29 and 33 respectively, have a direct entry at the French Open in Paris, from May 29, the others have to go through the qualifying rounds.

Sixteen-year old Sanaa and Sania Mirza created a sensation last year by becoming the first Indian girls to reach the doubles semi-finals of a Grand Slam.

The players' first event would be a G1 event on clay court in Belgium from Monday. After competing at Roland Garros, they will proceed to Germany, where they will play in G1 and G4 events.

Another G1 grass court tournament in Roehampton, London, then would serve as the tune-up for Wimbledon.

Source: PTI
© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

NEXT ARTICLE

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email