London Olympics: Leander, Sania confirmed as mixed doubles partner

Taking to court with his 94th men's doubles partner, India's Leander Paes has seen more pairings than most, but the 39-year-old is focused on another record as the first tennis player to compete at six consecutive games, says a report in The DNA.

"It's really awesome to come back for my sixth Olympics," said Paes, who is hoping his success at Wimbledon, where he has won four doubles titles in the men's and mixed, will help. "I know this place like the back of my hand so I know how each court plays. It's important to get comfortable on it and set a strategy; this is a knockout tournament - if you don't win then you are out," said Paes.

Meanwhile, Leander Paes and Sania Mirza were confirmed as India's mixed doubles team at the Olympics on Tuesday, the final act of a blazing selection row which split the squad.

According to a report in Indian Express says that India had a relatively fruitful day on the tennis courts at the prestigious Wimbledon with the warring duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi advancing to the second round of the men's doubles event of the Olympic Games with their respective partners.

While Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna had to sweat it out before suppressing the challenge of Max Mirnyi and Alexander Bury of Belarus 7-6 (4) 6-7 (4) 8-6, Paes and his unheralded partner Vishnu Vardhan got the better of Jean Julien Rojer and Robin Haase of The Netherlands 7-6 (1) 4-6 6-2 here on Monday. Paes and Vardhan, ranked 208 in the world, struggled to win the first set and lost their rhythm to concede the second set. But they bounced back brilliantly in decider to clinch the issue and keep their hopes alive in the competition.

Meanwhile India's weightlifting campaign in the London Olympics ended on a dismal note with Katulu Ravi Kumar coming up with a below-par performance in the men's 69kg category at the ExCel Arena on Tuesday, says a report in The Times Of India. Ravi Kumar, who had just recovered in time for the event after a bout of fever, lifted a below par 303kg -- 136kg in snatch and 167kg in clean and jerk -- to finish sixth in the 10-lifter Group B competition.