The All India Tennis Association's plan of conducting 44 international events on the back of government support this season is unlikely to materialise with the Sports Ministry indicating that it is not keen to provide funds.
The All India Tennis Association's plan of conducting 44 international events on the back of government support this season is unlikely to materialise with the Sports Ministry indicating that it is not keen to provide funds.
The ministry has told AITA that holding tournaments is strictly a national federation's domain and the government can only chip in for some cases.
India's tennis calendar has a barren look to it as ATP Challengers have vanished from it, leaving the country's players with no Tier-II tournaments which can help them earn ranking points and money.
In 2015, India hosted four USD 50,000 Challengers and in 2016 it was reduced to two -- Delhi Open and the Pune Challenger.
This season, four months have passed but the players have not got a single Challenger to compete in as the Delhi Open, which is usually held in February, has been delayed.
Only one state association -- MSLTA -- has committed to continue with its Challenger in Pune in October.
In the 2015 season, India had hosted 19 men's ITF Futures and 16 women's ITF events but last year, not event half of that could take place.
AITA Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee had recently said that they have submitted a proposal to the government through Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC), seeking help of Rs 11 crore for hosting 44 international tournaments.
AITA was hoping that the government would chip in with this funding, while it would raise money for the rest of the cost.
However, a ministry source, who is in know of the things, said organising tournaments is a Federation's responsibility.
"We have told them that organising such tournaments is the responsibility of the Federation and its Members and Affiliates. Government can only supplement to some extent. We can maybe help them with one big ATP tournament," the official told
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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