BOPANNA SKIPS EVENT, EYES ASIAN GAMES

NEW DELHI: Doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna, recuperating from a shoulder injury, will skip the ATP Rogers Cup beginning in Toronto on Monday, and will reach Palembang on August 14 to get acclimatised to the conditions ahead of the Asian Games.

It means that Bopanna will compete at the Asian Games without any competitive match since the Wimbledon Championships. Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Rogervasselin had conceded their men’s doubles second round after the Indian suffered the injury on July 6.

“Rohan has recovered from his shoulder injury but he thought it does not make sense to travel all the way to US for just one week. Those are big tournaments and you need to be match sharp,” India’s men’s squad captain Zeeshan Ali told PTI.

“He is losing about 1000 points by not playing these two weeks but he thought it’s a better decision to save his shoulder for the Asian Games.”

GAURAV WINS MRF RALLY OF COIMBATORE

COIMBATORE: Ace Indian rallyist Gaurav Gill combined with co-driver Musa Sherif to win the MRF Rally of Coimbatore as Team Mahindra enjoyed a 1-2 finish in round 2 of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, here on Sunday.

Gill and Sherif romped home to victories in each of the stages over the weekend to outclass the field. He needed 1:14:30.1 to complete the five stages, winning the round with a handsome margin of 1 min 1.1 sec.