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Serena, Venus Williams to lead US versus Swedes in Fed Cup
The move ensures the Williams sisters, two-time defending Olympic women's doubles champions as well as the 2000 Sydney Olympic winners, will be eligible to play in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.New York:
The move ensures the Williams sisters, two-time defending Olympic women's doubles champions as well as the 2000 Sydney Olympic winners, will be eligible to play in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.New York:
World number one Serena Williams and her sister Venus will join Sloane Stephens and Varvara Lepchenko on the US Fed Cup team facing Sweden later this month, the US Tennis Association said Wednesday.
The move ensures the Williams sisters, two-time defending Olympic women's doubles champions as well as the 2000 Sydney Olympic winners, will be eligible to play in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Serena Williams, a 15-time Grand Slam singles champion, is also the reigning Olympic singles champion.
The Americans, all ranked in the WTA top 30, will play host to Sweden at Delray Beach, Florida, on April 20-21, with the winner qualifying for the 2014 World Group and the loser relegated with no chance to win the trophy next year.
"I'm really excited about the team that we have," US Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez said. "We have great talent and depth, which is a perfect combination."
Venus Williams is ranked 22nd, six spots behind Australian Open semi-finalist Stephens and five ahead of Lepchenko.
Sweden's team features 54th-ranked Sofia Arvidsson, 65th-ranked Johanna Larsson, 425th-ranked Hilda Melander and 489th-ranked Sandra Roma.
IPL faces trouble over Sri Lanka tangle
The upcoming Indian Premier League Twenty20 matches may see trouble in Tamil Nadu as political parties in the state are bound to object to the presence of Sri Lankan players.
There are 11 Sri Lankan players in the tournament. Chennai will be hosting a total of 10 matches, including two in the play-off. The neighbouring country’s players include: Muthaiah Muralitharan and Thilakaratne Dilshan (Royal Challengers, Bangalore), Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians), Ajantha Mendis and Angelo Mathews (Pune Warriors India), Kumar Sangakkara and Thisara Perera (Sunrise Hyderabad), Nuwan Kulasekara (Chennai Super Kings), Jeevan Mendis (Delhi Daredevils), Sachinthra Senanayake (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Kushal Janith Perera (Rajasthan Royals).
A senior IPL official confided to Deccan Herald on Friday that some IPL matches, especially those to be played in Chennai, may see opposition because of the presence of Sri Lankan players.
The IPL 2013 kicks off in Kolkata on April 3. The last match is scheduled for May 26.
Tamil Nadu political parties have been protesting over various incidents in the last several weeks both in the state and Delhi, including in Parliament. On Friday, there was an uproar in Parliament over the arrest of Tamil fishermen by the island Navy. India summoned the Lankan deputy high commissioner and demanded speedy release of the 53 fishermen.
Besides the arrest of the fishermen, incidents such as a video of alleged killing of Balachandran (son of LTTE supremo Prabhakaran) and the recent visit of President Mahendra Rajapaksa had witnessed protests by Tamil Nadu political parties. These parties have also asked the Centre to endorse a US-sponsored resolution at the United Nations Commission for Human Rights at its March 20 meeting in Geneva condemning war crimes in the country.
The senior official referred to a recent stand taken by the Tamil Nadu government of not hosting Lankan athletes scheduled to take part in the third leg of the Asian athletics championships to be held in Chennai on May 16. It was eventually shifted to Colombo. The IPL governing council has not discussed the possibility of a similar threat to the matches so far.
Repeated calls made to IPL chairman and Indian Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla did not elicit any response.
- DH News Service
The upcoming Indian Premier League Twenty20 matches may see trouble in Tamil Nadu as political parties in the state are bound to object to the presence of Sri Lankan players.
There are 11 Sri Lankan players in the tournament. Chennai will be hosting a total of 10 matches, including two in the play-off. The neighbouring country’s players include: Muthaiah Muralitharan and Thilakaratne Dilshan (Royal Challengers, Bangalore), Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians), Ajantha Mendis and Angelo Mathews (Pune Warriors India), Kumar Sangakkara and Thisara Perera (Sunrise Hyderabad), Nuwan Kulasekara (Chennai Super Kings), Jeevan Mendis (Delhi Daredevils), Sachinthra Senanayake (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Kushal Janith Perera (Rajasthan Royals).
A senior IPL official confided to Deccan Herald on Friday that some IPL matches, especially those to be played in Chennai, may see opposition because of the presence of Sri Lankan players.
The IPL 2013 kicks off in Kolkata on April 3. The last match is scheduled for May 26.
Tamil Nadu political parties have been protesting over various incidents in the last several weeks both in the state and Delhi, including in Parliament. On Friday, there was an uproar in Parliament over the arrest of Tamil fishermen by the island Navy. India summoned the Lankan deputy high commissioner and demanded speedy release of the 53 fishermen.
Besides the arrest of the fishermen, incidents such as a video of alleged killing of Balachandran (son of LTTE supremo Prabhakaran) and the recent visit of President Mahendra Rajapaksa had witnessed protests by Tamil Nadu political parties. These parties have also asked the Centre to endorse a US-sponsored resolution at the United Nations Commission for Human Rights at its March 20 meeting in Geneva condemning war crimes in the country.
The senior official referred to a recent stand taken by the Tamil Nadu government of not hosting Lankan athletes scheduled to take part in the third leg of the Asian athletics championships to be held in Chennai on May 16. It was eventually shifted to Colombo. The IPL governing council has not discussed the possibility of a similar threat to the matches so far.
Repeated calls made to IPL chairman and Indian Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla did not elicit any response.
- DH News Service
(under the courtesy of adaderana news web)
