Paris Olympics 2024: Rohan Bopanna Set To Play Men's Doubles With Sriram Balaji For India

NEW DELHI: Veteran tennis player Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji will be the preferred pairing for team India in the men's doubles event in the upcoming Paris Olympic Games 2024.

This was announced by the All India Tennis Association on Thursday, 13 June.

After being allowed to chose his partner, World No. 4 and veteran Grand Slam champion Rohan Bopanna picked Sriram Balaji, whose current world ranking is 67.

The decision was announced by AITA on Thursday via an official release. Coach Balachandran Manikkath and physio Rebecca V. Orshaegen will accompany the duo in Paris.

"We are proud to announce that Rohan Bopanna and N. Sriram Balaji have qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024! With Coach Mr. Balachandran Manikkath and Physio Ms. Rebecca V. Orshaegen by their side, we're ready to make a mark on the world stage," AITA wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Notably, Bopanna, who had represented India at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, comfortably secured a quota for India, maintaining a spot in the top 10 of the doubles rankings since November last year.

It is worth mentioning that the men’s and women’s doubles draws at Paris 2024 will feature 32 teams, a team being a pair of athletes from the same nation, a maximum of two teams per nation.

Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji had recently faced each other at the French Open 2024.

Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden got the better of Balaji and Miguel Reyes-Varela in a thrilling 3-set encounter to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

The Indo-Australian pair edged past Sriram Balaji and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) in a gruelling match that lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes.

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