Bopanna-Ebden, Yuki-Haase pairs advance, Nagal exits from Dubai Tennis C'ship
Dubai (PTI): Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden entered the men's doubles quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a straight set win over the Tunisian-Pakistani pair of Skander Mansouri and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi here.
Bopanna and Ebden, who won the Australian Open last month, took one hour and 41 minutes to get the better of Mansouri and Qureshi 7-6(4) 7-6(5) in the round of 16 on Tuesday night.
Bopanna and Ebden, who made their first outing since winning the men's doubles title at the Australian Open, will face Ariel Behar of Uruguay and Czech Adam Pavlasek in the quarterfinals.
Another Indian, Yuki Bhambri and his Dutch partner Robin Haase also progressed to the quarterfinals, defeating Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik and Adrian Mannarino of France 6-7(6) 6-3 10-8 in a round of 16 match.
Yuki and Haase will next face the winner of the match between the Belgian duo of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen and third seed English-Kiwi pair of Jamal Murray and Michael Venus.
However, it was curtains for India in men's singles after the country's top player Sumit Nagal exited in the round of 32.
Nagal lost 4-6 7-5 1-6 against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.
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Modi expresses deep sadness over Khaleda Zia's death
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed deep sadness over the death of his former Bangladesh counterpart Khaleda Zia, saying her contributions towards the development of the neighbouring country, as well as India-Bangladesh relations, will always be remembered.
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"Deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka. Our sincerest condolences to her family and all the people of Bangladesh. May the Almighty grant her family the fortitude to bear this tragic loss," Modi wrote on X.
"I recall my warm meeting with her in Dhaka in 2015. We hope that her vision and legacy will continue to guide our partnership. May her soul rest in peace," he said.
The three-time prime minister of Bangladesh breathed her last early Tuesday while receiving treatment at a hospital in Dhaka. She was 80.
Zia, the first female prime minister of Bangladesh, played a major role in restoring democracy in the country after a period of tumultuous military rule. She went on to dominate the country's politics for decades.
