As you walk into the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) Complex, you invariably see the ‘India Tennis Centre' flag fluttering, in front of the majestic, ‘Facility block' that was built for the Commonwealth Games.
The ‘India Tennis Centre' (ITC) is the major attraction at the DLTA. Clients, who reportedly pay up as much as five lakh rupees these days, for membership rights, have every facility available for them, as expected in a world-class club.
The Secretary-General of the All India Tennis Association (AITA), Anil Khanna, the man behind every move at the DLTA, has maintained that he was not keen about reopening the bar, despite pressure from some quarters.
The Cafe Lounge located in the Facility block, incidentally the only lounge of any kind for the players at the arena, has rates matching the stature of the members. Just for example, a sports drink that is available in the market for Rs.30, with a Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of Rs. 35, sells at Rs. 70 at the lounge. No wonder that the contractor has claimed that he had been running at a loss, as most of the stuff procured from the best bakery in town had to be regularly thrown out for want of business.
No kitchen
Players point out that they get good meals for Rs. 50 at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) Complex in Mumbai. On the other hand here, the kitchen is not running even for players staying in the rooms at the R.K. Khanna Stadium.
Khanna said that he would soon make alternative arrangements for refreshments elsewhere at the DLTA Complex, at a reasonable price, for the players.
Despite all the talk about tennis and the players being priority, it is undoubtedly the ‘India Tennis Centre' that has been the priority, as there has been aggressive marketing to sell membership even before the dust had settled down on the Commonwealth Games.
Not even a small percentage of that enthusiasm has been shown to revive Indian tennis that has been rocking dangerously in recent times. There is not a single international tennis tournament that has been confirmed, in the Indian calendar for men or women, for the next six months.
The domestic circuit was throttled a few years ago, and perhaps it is the turn of the international circuit now.
The Indian Davis Cup team may be in the World Group thanks mainly to the deeds of Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna, but the Indian Fed Cup team has been relegated to group ‘1II' in the Asia Oceania zone, despite the presence of Sania Mirza.
The Indian under-16 boys' team finished 13th in the region at home and the girls' team was placed ninth. The under-14 boys' team was placed third and proved an exception in qualifying for the World Group competition and the girls' under-14 team failed to qualify, as it finished sixth.
Government grant has been sought for everything from conducting tournaments to supporting the elite players, basically to prepare them for the Olympics in London. It has been indicated that Indian tennis would freeze, if the Sports Ministry opted to look the other way. During the course of his interaction with The Hindu the other day, Khanna had stated that he might be left with no option but to hand over the DLTA Complex to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), if the government did not permit renting out the newly-added infrastructure.
It looks like Indian tennis has little scope for redemption in the near future.
