Kiren Rijiju: Govt has no say about India's participation in Davis Cup

Kiren Rijiju

New Delhi: India's national tennis federation yesterday decided against seeking a change of venue for the Davis Cup tie versus Pakistan in Islamabad but requested the world body ITF to conduct another security check there in view of the fresh diplomatic tension.

India's participation in the Asia-Oceania Zone Group 1 Davis Cup tie, scheduled on September 14 and 15, is uncertain owing to high political tension with Pakistan.

Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic ties with India after provisions of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, were done away with and the state was turned into a Union Territory.

Sports minister Kiren Rijiju said the government will not have any say on whether India should participate in next month's Davis Cup tie in Pakistan as the event is not a bilateral engagement.

"If it is a bilateral sporting event, then whether India will play with Pakistan becomes a political decision. But Davis Cup is not bilateral and is organised by a world sporting body," said Rijiju.

"We are aware that you had done a safety check before the diplomatic ties have been downgraded. ITF [International Tennis Federation] may find it appropriate to do another check to its own satisfaction to ensure the safety of all the stakeholders connected with the tie," All India Tennis Association (AITA) Secretary Hironmoy Chatterjee wrote in a mail addressed to ITF Executive Director Justine Albert.

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