Mumbai: The union sports ministry’s decision to exclude five tennis players from the Indian contingent for next month’s Asian Games has left them disappointed at losing their “opportunity to compete”, at the very least, after being selected.
“Winning a medal is never guaranteed in sport. “Athletes prepare to fight for medals, not to be guaranteed one. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose — but the opportunity to compete is what every athlete deserves.”
If it were, there would be no competition,” Vaidehee Chaudhari, India No.3 in women’s singles, said on Monday.
From the 12-member squad picked by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) in June for the continental event, the ministry left out the five over its criteria laid out last year. And we’ve all been doing well recently,” Sahaja, 25, said. “Because we were all looking forward to representing India at the Asian Games.
It stated that only athletes with a realistic chance of winning medals would be considered for participation in multi-sport events. One of the benchmarks in it for the Asian Games was that the player’s world ranking must be in the top six among the Asian countries. But it is what it is. The ministry has maintained that the criteria were laid out in advance, and exist for a reason. “If an athlete is selected to represent the country, shouldn’t they at least be given the opportunity to compete?
“But if the ministry has already said that this is the rule, no one can do anything about it… of course, it sucks that the rule exists. Sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya said last month that events like the Asian Games were not “exposure tours”. “Today, being told that we may not be sent because there is a belief that we are not capable of winning a medal is extremely disappointing,” said Vaidehee. “I don’t want to try and fight against it, because I know it’s not going to change anything for us to be at the Asian Games.” said Sahaja. “I’m just going to keep doing my work, and try to earn our spots for when the Asian Games comes around the next time.”
