New Delhi: Somdev Devvarman might have led a rebellion against the national tennis federation but AITA has recommended his name for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year 2013.
Somdev has won the singles gold in 2010 Commonwealth Games and gold in both singles and doubles in the Guangzhou Asian Games the same year.
Early this year, through a rebellion he forced AITA to improve playing conditions with regard to the Davis Cup.
His best result on the Tour was as the runner-up in the 2009 Chennai Open. He reached a career-high rank of 62 in July 2011 but a shoulder injury coupled with poor form led to a slide. He was out of action for about eight months after undergoing shoulder surgery last January.
AITA has also recommended the name of Vijay Amritraj for the Dhyan Chand Award. Current Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali has been recommended for Arjuna Award along with veteran player Rushmi Chakravarthi. Nandan Bal, whom Zeeshan replaced as Davis Cup coach, has been recommended for the Dronacharya Award. (PTI)
