Facing flak from all quarters for allowing Sania Mirza and Sunitha Rao in casuals in the Olympic opening ceremony, IOA President Suresh Kalmadi today said it was a decision taken by Chef de Mission K Murugan after the duo had expressed desire to be part of the contingent but had no time to change.

Ace tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi on Thursday tipped Prakash Amritraj and new kid on the block Somdev Devvarman as ideal players for India’s upcoming Davis Cup tie in Romania.

“I feel Prakash and Somdev would be ideal players for the tie to be played on clay court,” Bhupathi said.

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza has many accolades to her name but her show in year 2008 hasn’t been that impressive. She was ousted in the very first round (singles) at Beijing Olympics and now, she has even pulled-out from US Open due to her wrist injury.

It’s not just about the answers she fires on a tennis court”the furious forehands or the cute, angled backhands. It’s also the retorts that come off it. Sania Mirza’s replies are often a reflection of her state of mind”confident, confused or crushed.

NEW DELHI: Deflecting volleys is what Mahesh Bhupathi does for a living. If he’s not occupied with putting the fuzzy, yellow ball on the other side of the net, off the court he’s busy fending off verbal lobs, good humouredly.