Depleted men's tennis team for AAG

The All India Tennis Association has named a second string men's team for the upcoming Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad.

None of the players who figured in the team that lost to Holland in the Davis Cup match last month figure in the squad.

The AITA, which had earlier requested the Indian Olympic Association to pull out of the tennis event at the Games because of players' commitments on the circuit, named a team comprising Sunil Kumar Sipaeya, Vishal Uppal, Vijay Kannan and Vinod Sridhar.

However, the women's team will be in full strength, with Sania Mirza and Megha Varkaria leading the charge. The other members are Rushmi Chakravarthy and Sonal Phadke.

Enrico Piperno and S P Misra have been named captains of the women's and men's teams respectively.

AITA secretary Anil Khanna said though depleted, the men's team is one of the strongest in the AAG field.

"Even in the absence of our Davis Cup players, our teams are one of the strongest in the field and will definitely try to win the highest laurels for India at the inaugural Games," he said in a statement announcing the squads.

Sania Mirza: age: 16, rank: 421 in WTA singles & 355 in doubles; winner of 6 ITF Women's titles; No. 1 in ITF Junior girls' doubles; bronze medallist at the Busan Asian Games.

Megha Vakharia: age: 19, rank: 479 in singles & 407 in doubles; finalist at ITF tournaments in the USA, Nigeria and two in Bangalore; winner of five ITF doubles titles.

Rushmi Chakravarthy: age: 26, rank: 427 in singles & 291 in doubles; finalist in last week women's tournament in Jakarta.

Sonal Phadke: age: 21, rank: 596 in singles & 595 in doubles.

Captain: Enrico Piperno

Vijay Kannan: age: 23, rank: 613 in ATP singles & 350 in doubles; highest ranked Indian after Rohan Bopanna, Harsh Mankad and Prakash Amritraj.

Vinod Sridhar: age: 24, rank: 682 in singles & 1690 in doubles; only Indian to qualify for the ongoing ATP Challenger; reigning national hardcourt champion.

Sunil Kumar Sipaeya: age: 20, rank: 609 in singles & 602 in doubles; winner of ITF Futures title in Tunisia; former Asian junior champion.

Vishal Uppal: age: 27, rank: 889 in singles & 346 in doubles; Davis Cup player, doubles specialist.

Captain: S. P. Misra.