The All India Tennis Association (AITA) clarified on the government’s circular to the national federations that hinted at the leading tennis players missing the Asian Games in Incheon, Korea, owing to their professional commitments.
AITA secretary-general Bharat Oza pointed out that Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman had competed in the Davis Cup for the country the week prior to the Asian Games.
‘‘It is essential for the players to have good ranking, as otherwise they would not be able to represent the nation in Grand Slams, Davis Cup and Olympic Games,” said Oza in a media release here on Wednesday.
He stressed that the players had lost a lot of money in terms of government cash awards as all of them were capable of winning medals in the Asian Games. So, it was not for the lure of money that they skipped the Asian Games to compete in the professional circuit.
It was also highlighted that despite the absence of the star players, the Indian squad did exceedingly well by winning five medals in Incheon.
