New Delhi: The closure of Pakistan’s air space in the aftermath of the Balakot air strikes has resulted in India losing the hosting rights of the junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup, a source in the national federation said on Tuesday.
A total of 16 Under-16 Davis Cup teams, including Pakistan, were to travel to India for the annual competition, often dubbed as the World Cup of tennis. The junior event was to be held at the DLTA complex from April 8 to 13 while the Fed Cup was scheduled from April 15 to 20.
“Pakistan’s air space was locked down at that time and airports (in India) were also on high alert. No one knew for how long the uncertain situation will prevail. So, a consensus emerged that it's best to shift the venue and India could host tournaments in future,” a highly-placed source said.
Both the competitions will now be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
The tensions between the two neighbours heightened after the Pulwama terror attack in which more than 40 CRPF personnel were killed.
“Since the air space was locked, the flights had to take a detour, which meant increase in cost and more travel time,” he added.
All India Tennis Association Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee claimed that AITA failed to raise funds for the tournament. “Raising funds for tennis tournaments is very difficult in this country. We had recently hosted the Davis Cup in Kolkata and now we are short of funds. The government also does not help,” Chatterjee said.
