India File

Bhupathi enters 2nd roundNEW DELHI: Mahesh Bhupathi, whose success rate in singles play has been rather poor, moved into the second round of...

Bhupathi enters 2nd round

NEW DELHI: Mahesh Bhupathi, whose success rate in singles play has been rather poor, moved into the second round of the Heineken Ho Chi Minh City Challenger beating Andrei Cherkasov (ranked 170) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 on Monday. The win gives the 218-ranked Bhupathi a chance to avenge his defeat at the hands of Alex Calatrava, who he meets in the second round. Calatrava ranked 111 is the third seed here.

Leander Paes (ranked 160) meets Peter Tramacci (ranked 188) in the first round. Mahesh is also entered in the doubles, but with Tramacci as his partner and the two are top seeds. According to an ATP rule doubles pairs ranked in top 10 cannot play together in Challengers.

Jadeja signs deal

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MUMBAI: India’s one-day specialist and former vice-captain Ajay Jadeja signed a three-year sponsorship deal with lubricant company Castrol India Limited here today.

Ram Savoor, chief executive and managing director of Castrol, said in a statement that he was very happy to welcomeJadeja to the Castrol family. He said Castrol’s foray into cricket was because the game is almost a part of life for millions of Indians as are several of Castrol’s brands.

Misra replaced

NEW DELHI: India’s preparation for hockey Test series against Pakistan suffered a setback as striker Rajiv Mishra has opted out of the team due to injury. Mishra has been replaced by Altaf-ur-Rehman.