Davis Cup: Paes creates history as India win doubles match
Tianjin (China), April 7: Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna notched up a hard fought win in the doubles contest to keep India's chances alive in their Davis Cup Asia/Ocenia Group I tie against China here on Saturday.
The experienced Indian combination were made to sweat by the spirited Chinese pair of Mo Xin Gong and Ze Zhang before claiming a 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) victory.
It was a landmark moment for the 44-year-old Paes as he notched up a record 43rd Davis Cup victory to become the most successful player in the history of the tennis competition.
Paes was tied on 42 wins with Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli for a long time, but the Kolkata born star finally surpassed him with his 43rd victory.
India now trail the hosts 1-2. Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal had lost their respective singles matches on Friday which handed China a 2-0 lead.
Now Ramanathan and Nagal will now have to win both the reverse singles if India is to qualify for the World Group Play-offs.
Needing a win in the doubles to keep India afloat in the tie, Paes stamped his class along with the experienced Bopanna.
In the first set, Paes' service was broken in the 11th game after the two pairs were tied at 5-5.
The Indians got more break opportunities than the hosts but struggled to kill it off.
The Indians broke Gong in the third game for a 2-1 lead and then held on.
In the decider, Paes and Bopanna frittered away a 3-1 lead by losing three games in a row to trail 3-4.
Paes came out to serve at 5-6 and went down 0-30 but the veteran used all his experience to pull off the crucial hold to force another tie-breaker.
In the tie breaker, Paes and Bopanna used all their experience to roll over the lower-ranked Chinese and pull off the triumph.
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Singer Sonu Nigam moves K'taka HC seeking quashing of criminal case over Kannada remark
Bengaluru, May 13 (PTI): Singer Sonu Nigam has approached the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash a criminal case registered against him over alleged offensive remarks made about the Kannadigas during a recent concert in Bengaluru.
The petition was listed before the vacation bench of Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar, who deferred the matter for hearing on a later date.
The controversy stems from an incident that occurred on April 25 at a live concert held at an engineering college in Bengaluru.
During the performance, several members of the audience requested Nigam to sing in Kannada. Reports state that the singer declined the request and expressed displeasure at the manner in which it was made, accusing some attendees of being impolite. Although Nigam affirmed his respect and admiration for Kannadigas, he allegedly drew a controversial parallel by stating, “This is the reason Pahalgam happened,” referencing a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam region.
The statement quickly gained traction on social media and sparked outrage.
On May 2, TA Dharmaraj, president of the Bangalore City District Unit of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Narayana Gowda faction), lodged a complaint over the remark.
Based on this complaint, Avalahalli police registered a case on May 3 under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023—specifically Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 352(1) (insult intended to provoke breach of peace), and 353 (statements likely to incite public mischief).
Following the backlash, Nigam issued public statements expressing regret and apologised for his comments. However, the legal proceedings have continued, prompting the singer to file the present plea for dismissal of the charges.
