Saketh, Somdev vie main draw
Chennai: India's Somdev Devvarman, Saketh Myneni and Sanam Singh will vie for a spot in the main draw when the qualifying round of the Aircel Chennai Open begins here on Friday. The qualifying singles rounds will be played on Friday and Saturday at the SDAT Stadium. Four places are up for grabs in the singles main draw, and the result of these two days will determine which four players make it to the 28-player field of the 20th edition of India's most premier and South Asia's only ATP World Tour event. The qualifying singles round is a draw of 16 with 14 direct acceptances and two wildcards. leading the charge amongst the Indian boys will be Saketh, Somdev and Sanam. Sanam was granted a wildcard into the qualifying singles draw earlier this week, but has now gained direct entry into the qualifying main draw. In his place, Prajnesh Gunneswaran has been given a wildcard into the qualifying singles draw along with N Vijay Sundar Prashanth.
PCB hopeful of India series
Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is hopeful that following the thaw in India and Pakistan relations a breakthrough will come soon in the restoration of bilateral cricket ties with a short series in England likely to open doors in 2016. A reliable source in the PCB said that stung by whatever had transpired in the last two to three months by way of the planned bilateral series between Pakistan and India in December the PCB had now decided to change its policy. "The PCB has also got feelers from the government to remain quiet on Indo-Pak cricket ties," the source said. According to the source there is hope that the Indian cricket board will get permission from its government to play cricket with Pakistan and they could than agree to play three ODIs and three T20 matches in England in 2016.
PBl unveils official Anthem
New Delhi: Premier Badminton league (PBl), which is set to begin on January 2nd, unveiled its official Anthem "Halla Macha De" on its facebook page on Thursday. The anthem composed by musical duo Salim-Sulaiman will encourage India to "Halla Macha De" during the entire league and come out full-on to support their team. The anthem has gone live on its Facebook page and will soon be available on Youtube. FM stations will soon air the anthem. Salim-Sulaiman will perform the song lIVE on 2nd January 2016 at the official opening ceremony at National Sports Complex of India (NSCI) in Mumbai. The PBl is all set to kickstart with some high-voltage action between Mumbai Rockets and Awadhe Warriors.
‘Eager to play alongside Saina’
New Delhi: G Vrushali feels lucky to be in the same team as Saina Nehwal and looks at picking up useful tips from the World No. 2. Come 2nd January, the Premier Badminton league will witness the editions first clash between Awadhe Warriors and Mumbai Rockets. When commenting on playing in the same team as Saina, Vrushali said: "I think it will be dream come true for any player to represent the same team as Saina Nehwal. It will be a huge platform for me as I will even take this as an opportunity to pick up useful learning from her. I am excited and looking forward to play for Awadhe Warriors. Apart from Saina, there are other international players which make our team look very strong and I hope we win the title."
Monfils out of Hopman Cup
PERTH: Gael Monfils has withdrawn from the Hopman Cup mixed team event due to an unspecified leg injury and will be replaced by French compatriot Kenny De Schepper. It was not clear whether the injury would prevent the 24th-ranked Monfils from competing in the Australian Open beginning Jan. 18 in Melbourne. Hopman Cup tournament director Paul Kilderry said Thursday "it's unfortunate to hear Gael is unable to play in Perth ... we wish him well over the next couple of weeks ahead of the Aussie Open." De Schepper and his partner Caroline Garcia play their first match Monday against the Britain team of Andy Murray and Heather Watson.