DMK working president M.K. Stalin on Thursday expressed shock at the shifting of the Chennai Open ATP tournament to Pune, and requested Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to take immediate action to ensure the tournament stayed in Chennai.
The Chennai Open has been held here for the last 21 years.
“The exemplary conduct of this event brought laurels to the city not only by patrons and tennis fans in Chennai but also across the globe. Given the importance of the event, significant monetary contributions have been the made by the State government,” Mr. Stalin said in a statement.
It was “an unfair step by the International Management Group (IMG) to break this long-standing association, thereby disappointing countless fans as well as tennis players of Tamil Nadu.”
Mr. Stalin also condemned the State government’s lack of efforts to keep the tournament in the city.
“With the IMG stating that commercial interests led to the shifting of the venue, the silence and inaction of the Tamil Nadu government in this issue is condemnable,” the DMK leader said and sought the immediate action from the Chief Minister to ensure the tournament remained in Chennai.
