Divij-Raja qualify for Wimbledon doubles main draw

Divij Sharan and Purav Raja will make their first ever appearance at a Grand Slam as the Indian duo qualified for the Wimbledon men's doubles event.

Seeded fourth in the qualifying event, left-handed Divij and Purav received a walkover from their second round opponents, Andreas Haider-Maurer from Austria and Jiri Vesely of Czech Republic.

The Indian representation has increased at the Wimbledon with Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna already there in the men's doubles event.

It is a big career boost for Divij and Raja, who are regular partners on the Challenger Tour.

This season they have made four finals, winning the Kyoto event and ending runners-up at Nottingham, Johannesburg and Leon, Mexio.

Both have played one Davis Cup tie each in the absence of star players.

Divij had played against New Zealand in Chandigarh, where he combined with Vishnu Vardhan for the doubles rubber.

Raja had played against South Korea in New Delhi in company of Leander Paes.

Photograph: Jesse Toksvig-Stewart/Getty Images