NEW DELHI: The closure of Pakistan's air area in the aftermath of the Balakot airstrikes has ended in India dropping the webhosting rights of the junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup, a supply in the national federation instructed PTI on Tuesday.
A total of 16 Under-16 Davis Cup groups, together with Pakistan, had been to travel to India for the yearly pageant, ceaselessly dubbed as the World Cup of tennis.
The junior Davis Cup was to be held on the DLTA advanced from April 8-13 whilst the Fed Cup fits had been scheduled from April 15-20.
"Pakistan's air space was locked down at that time and airports (in India) were also on high alert. No one knew for how long the uncertain situation will prevail. So, a consensus emerged that it's best to shift the venue and India could host tournaments in future," a highly-placed supply instructed PTI.
Both the competitions will now be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
The tensions between the two neighbours heightened after the Pulwama terror assault wherein more than 40 CRPF body of workers had been killed. The duty of the assault was taken through Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.
India retaliated with an air strike, concentrated on a training camp of the outfit on February 26. Pakistan's air area stays closed till date in the aftermath.
The supply said logistics was a big factor for nearly all of the collaborating nations.
"Since the air area was locked, the flights needed to take a detour, which means building up in cost and more travel time. For instance, Kazakhstan would have taken three-four additional hours to succeed in New Delhi in the prevailing situation.
"So there was a discussion some of the International Tennis Federation Federation (ITF), hosts All India Tennis Association (AITA), Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) and a couple of other stake-holders and it was decided that in the meanwhile, it was prudent to shift the venue.
"It's not that India is not a secure place but due to the uncertainty caused by the tension between the two neighbours, everyone felt that it's a fair call to take the tournament somewhere else," said the supply, privy to the traits.
However, any other reputable, who did not wish to be named, said that AITA has in truth stored itself from trouble through agreeing to a change in venue because if the event remained in New Delhi, the federation needed to plead with the government for the visa approval of the Pakistan contingent.
"If the venue was not changed, AITA had to ensure that Pakistan athletes are provided visas. And in prevailing situation, no one can give that guarantee. So it's wise decision by AITA to agree to the arrangement," the reputable said.
When the ITF was approached for a comment, an reputable said, "I would like to inform you that the host nation decided to change the official venue to Bangkok. We were contacted by the ATF of (sic) the venue change for the Asia/Oceania final qualifying event."
When the All India Tennis Association was asked about it, secretary general Hironmoy Chatterjee claimed that AITA failed to boost price range for the event.
"Raising funds for tennis tournaments is very difficult in this country. We had recently hosted the Davis Cup in Kolkata and now we are short of funds. The government also does not help so we informed the ITF that we can't host it," Chatterjee instructed PTI.
Asked why didn't AITA factor all this when the events had been allocated through the ITF, Chatterjee said, "we were hoping to arrange funds at that time."
"You have to provide hospitality for these events. The stay, food, travel, everything has to be arranged for all players and officials. It's a lot of money."
It is learnt that it could have cost AITA about Rs 50 lakh to host the event and a part of the expenses would had been borne through the ITF.
A total of 16 Under-16 Davis Cup groups, together with Pakistan, had been to travel to India for the yearly pageant, ceaselessly dubbed as the World Cup of tennis.
The junior Davis Cup was to be held on the DLTA advanced from April 8-13 whilst the Fed Cup fits had been scheduled from April 15-20.
"Pakistan's air space was locked down at that time and airports (in India) were also on high alert. No one knew for how long the uncertain situation will prevail. So, a consensus emerged that it's best to shift the venue and India could host tournaments in future," a highly-placed supply instructed PTI.
Both the competitions will now be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
The tensions between the two neighbours heightened after the Pulwama terror assault wherein more than 40 CRPF body of workers had been killed. The duty of the assault was taken through Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.
India retaliated with an air strike, concentrated on a training camp of the outfit on February 26. Pakistan's air area stays closed till date in the aftermath.
The supply said logistics was a big factor for nearly all of the collaborating nations.
"Since the air area was locked, the flights needed to take a detour, which means building up in cost and more travel time. For instance, Kazakhstan would have taken three-four additional hours to succeed in New Delhi in the prevailing situation.
"So there was a discussion some of the International Tennis Federation Federation (ITF), hosts All India Tennis Association (AITA), Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) and a couple of other stake-holders and it was decided that in the meanwhile, it was prudent to shift the venue.
"It's not that India is not a secure place but due to the uncertainty caused by the tension between the two neighbours, everyone felt that it's a fair call to take the tournament somewhere else," said the supply, privy to the traits.
However, any other reputable, who did not wish to be named, said that AITA has in truth stored itself from trouble through agreeing to a change in venue because if the event remained in New Delhi, the federation needed to plead with the government for the visa approval of the Pakistan contingent.
"If the venue was not changed, AITA had to ensure that Pakistan athletes are provided visas. And in prevailing situation, no one can give that guarantee. So it's wise decision by AITA to agree to the arrangement," the reputable said.
When the ITF was approached for a comment, an reputable said, "I would like to inform you that the host nation decided to change the official venue to Bangkok. We were contacted by the ATF of (sic) the venue change for the Asia/Oceania final qualifying event."
When the All India Tennis Association was asked about it, secretary general Hironmoy Chatterjee claimed that AITA failed to boost price range for the event.
"Raising funds for tennis tournaments is very difficult in this country. We had recently hosted the Davis Cup in Kolkata and now we are short of funds. The government also does not help so we informed the ITF that we can't host it," Chatterjee instructed PTI.
Asked why didn't AITA factor all this when the events had been allocated through the ITF, Chatterjee said, "we were hoping to arrange funds at that time."
"You have to provide hospitality for these events. The stay, food, travel, everything has to be arranged for all players and officials. It's a lot of money."
It is learnt that it could have cost AITA about Rs 50 lakh to host the event and a part of the expenses would had been borne through the ITF.
India loses tennis events due to closure of Pakistan's air space
![India loses tennis events due to closure of Pakistan's air space]()
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March 20, 2019
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