AITA seeks advice from the Sports Ministry on India's Davis Cup tour to Pakistan
India vs Pakistan in tennis. Photo:
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Tuesday sought advice from the Sports Ministry on the national team's travel to Pakistan for the Davis Cup World Group 1 Play-off match against neighbors in Islamabad in February next year.
The AITA's decision came after the International Tennis Federation Tribunal rejected its request to move the match to a neutral venue.
“We have sought advice from the Sports Ministry on what the policy is regarding travel to Pakistan. It is a tennis World Cup. We are waiting for a response,” AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar told PTI.
The match is scheduled for February 3 and 4 at the Pakistan Sports Complex.
Dhupar had earlier told PTI that the AITA will approach the Sports Ministry on Monday and seek advice if they can send a team.
India and Pakistan last played each other in 2019 and the match was scheduled to take place across the border as the Indians had hosted the previous encounter in Mumbai in 2006.
But the AITA managed to shift the tie to a neutral location, Kazakhstan, citing political tensions between the two countries.
The Indian Davis Cup team last traveled to Pakistan in 1964 when Akhtar Ali, Premjit Lall and SP Misra helped the visitors win the tie 4-0 in Lahore.
The Indian cricket team last toured Pakistan in 2006, but since then the two sides have not played a bilateral series for more than a decade due to diplomatic tensions between the neighboring countries.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: December 26, 2023 | 8:59 PM IST