THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Resentment is brewing among the members of the Trivandrum Tennis Club over the ban imposed on young player, Jithin George, by the club secretary. While the club secretary Mr. Biju B Soman cited misbehaviour and overdue fees as the reasons for the ban, many club members termed it as absurd. “Jithin was a state champion and it is a matter of pride for TTC to have such players. Moreover, I personally know him for the last 14 years. He would never misbehave, that too to a senior person,” said Sanjay Kumar, a senior member of the club.
He was reacting to a DC report on Monday that the ban imposed on Jithin was snowballing into a row and that the Kerala State Sports Council was looking into the matter. Ajai Kumar, an executive committee member of the club, also said that many club members strongly disagreed with the action against Jithin. “Though we wanted to raise the issue at the executive committee meeting, it is not being convened,” he said. “Jithin was playing at TTC since he was a kid. Now he is studying at TKM engineering college in Kollam and he could play only for one or two days in a month. Some months he was not able to play at TTC even for a day. It is absurd to insist on a month’s fee from such players for using the court occasionally,” said Sanjay.
Sanjay Kumar, who had coached Jithin for several years, contested against the secretary in the last elections for club office bearers. Hence there were also allegations that the secretary initiated action against Jithin because of personal vendetta. Meanwhile, a member who did not want to be identified said that the present secretary was very strict and this was causing resentment among many members.
