India to travel to Pakistan for Davis Cup tie after AITA loses appeal

Indian tennis team will travel to Pakistan for first time in 60 years

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has rejected the appeal of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to shift the venue of the Davis Cup World Group I play-off tie against Pakistan from Islamabad to a neutral location, citing security concerns. The decision means that India will have to travel to Pakistan for the first time in 60 years to play the crucial tie, scheduled for February 3-4, 2024.

If India fails to travel, then host Pakistan will be declared the winner and India will be relegated to World Group Stage 2.

AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar confirmed the news and said that the federation will seek guidance from the Sports Ministry on whether to send a team or not. “I have got a message that AITA’s appeal has been rejected by the ITF Tribunal. We will approach the Sports Ministry on Monday and seek guidance if we will send a team,” Dhupar told PTI.

The ITF Tribunal, however, dismissed AITA’s appeal and upheld the decision of the 15-member Davis Cup Committee (DCC) to hold the tie in Pakistan. The Tribunal said that Pakistan had hosted several Davis Cup ties recently without any issues and that India should respect the DCC’s choice of venue.

Earlier a five-member squad for the tie, comprising Ramkumar Ramanathan, N Sriram Balaji, Yuki Bhambri, Niki Poonacha, and Saketh Myneni had been announced. Digvijay Pratap Singh was named as a reserve player. However, India’s top players Sumit Nagal and Sasikumar Mukund had opted out of the tie, citing personal reasons.

The last time India played Pakistan in Pakistan was in 1964 when it won 4-0. In 2019, the ITF moved the tie to Kazakhstan on AITA’s request and India won 4-0. Pakistan’s top players had boycotted the tie in protest against AITA’s decision to not travel to their country. Pakistan had fielded rookie players who were no match to India’s strong team.

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