A trickily-worded clarification by top Indian tennis stars over their threatened boycott of the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games has led to different interpretations

Pay issue could still keep tennis players away from CWG

A trickily-worded clarification by top Indian tennis stars over their threatened boycott of the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games has led to different interpretations.

While Anil Khanna, All India Tennis Association (AITA), read the letter as their confirmation of participating in the Games, sources close to the players insist that they have not made any commitment to it and that they only stated they would be there in Chennai to play the Davis Cup tie against Brazil next month.

Technically, Davis Cuppers Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna are correct in saying that in the statement on Saturday they have only referred to the Davis Cup tie, and as for the New Delhi Games, they have only sated that the sports ministry has promised to look into the issue of clearance of their bills.

Players also revealed in their communication that they have been submitting bills to the AITA officials and that they should process them quickly as an official of the sports ministry has confirmed that the payment is no issue once the bills are submitted.

"It is true that we wrote a letter to the AITA to voice some concerns we had about expenses that we were promised over the last year and a half, We have all submitted bills to various people at the AITA over this period, and now that the AITA has nominated us to represent India we requested them to make sure that the promises made are kept, we would like to put all speculation to rest and confirm we will be present in full strength to represent India against Brazil in Chennai in September," the players' release said.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels