The Karnataka High Court on Saturday stayed the two-year ban imposed by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on tennis players Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna from representing the country till June 2014.
Staying the Sep 15 ban through an interim order, Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar served notices on AITA and the union Sports Ministry directing them to file objections to the writ petition filed by Bhupathi and Bopanna.
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Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi. Pic/AFP
The duo moved the High Court challenging the ban for defying the AITA's directive to play with the other tennis star Leander Paes in the London Olympics.
“The judge stayed the ban after we challenged it on the ground that no advance notice was given to Bhupathi or Bopanna nor they were heard before,” Bhupathi’s counsel Aditya Sondhi told IANS. He also accused the association of not giving Bhupathi and Bopanna an opportunity to clarify their position for not playing with Paes.
Khanna to take action against Bhupathi
Meanwhile, All Indian Tennis Association (AITA) chief Anil Khanna on Saturday threatened to take action against Mahesh Bhupathi for making false allegations of wrongdoing and corruption against the country’s tennis body. Reacting to the graft charges levelled against him by Bhupathi, Khanna said this had been done with an ulterior motive. “Leander and Mahesh are not children.
They knew what was happening in the run-up to the London Olympics. Mahesh needs to look through his heart. The allegations are totally false and motivated and are made with an ulterior motive. I will take appropriate action against Mahesh,” Khanna was quoted as saying by Times Now.
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