Bopanna, Jeevan to defend Pune title
Defending champions Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan will be the pair to watch out at the Tata Open Maharashtra, where as many as five Indians feature in the main draw of the men’s doubles event.
Apart from Rohan-Jeevan, other Indians in the fray are last edition’s runners-up pair of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan will play with different partners. While Purav will pair with veteran Leander Paes, his former partner Divij will be playing alongside American Scott Lipsky.
The organisers on Friday announced the men’s doubles draw for the inaugural edition of the ATP 250 World Tour tournament to be held from December 30 to January 6 at the Mhalunge Balewadi Stadium.
TOUR DIRECTOR WANTS FROOME’S CASE SOLVED
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme wants cycling authorities to act quickly in their investigation of four-time champion Chris Froome.
Froome has been ordered to explain to the International Cycling Union why a urine sample he provided at the Spanish Vuelta showed a concentration of the asthma drug salbutamol that was twice the permitted level.
“We want the situation to be cleared up, to get out of the darkness and ambiguity,” Prudhomme said. “We obviously want an investigation to be conducted, and we don’t want it to last for months and months, so we can have an answer from the UCI as soon as possible next season.”
If found guilty of doping, the 32-year-old Froome could lose his Vuelta title and be suspended for a long period.
PUNE:
WADA LIFTS BAN ON PARIS ANTI-DOPING LAB
PARIS: PARIS:France’s
main anti-doping laboratory has had its suspension lifted after it corrected its “deficiencies”, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Thursday.
The Paris laboratory, where disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong’s samples were tested, was suspended on Oct. 31 after it reported analytical issues.
“We are confident that the Laboratory has corrected its deficiencies and our Laboratory Expert Group will now continue to monitor the Laboratory’s performance to ensure that it operates to the high standards required by WADA,” WADA director general Olivier Niggli said .