CHENNAI: Controversies and Somdev Devvarman have become as inseparable as fish and water. India’s ace singles player has pulled out of the Asian Games. Divij Sharan, who was named in the reserves, replaced Somdev.
The 28-year-old’s decision miffed the All India Tennis Association’s (AITA) general secretary Bharat Oza. “Somdev wished to pull out of Asian Games after he lost the US Open qualifying. He wants to improve his ATP rankings. We tried convincing him but he was adamant. He could have played for 4-5 days in the team event and put national interest ahead. But he was clear that he did not want to play,” he told TNIE.
Somdev’s explanation was, the Games stand in his way of getting into the top-100. “It didn’t make sense for my career to step away from the circuit and play at the Asian Games. I have had a tough year dealing with injuries and my ranking has dropped due to that. I look to break into the top-100 again by the end of this year. Asian Games, unfortunately, was not going to have a positive impact on my aim of breaking into the 100,” he said. Asked if his absence would affect India’s medal chances, he said, “Nothing is assured in sport. There are many good teams and a victory can never be certain.”
National coach Syed Zeeshan Ali said the controversy was uncalled for before their World Group playoff against Serbia. “It’s unfortunate that Somdev will have to answer too many questions. I hope he focuses on Davis Cup. As far as medal-winning is concerned, having him would have helped us. But we must understand he is 28 and for him, protecting his ATP ranking is much more a priority now than playing the Asian Games. It wasn’t the case four years ago when he won two gold medals,” he said. The coach also felt it was inappropriate to doubt his commitment. “It’s his decision. From the management side, it is a big loss but that is between the AITA and him. We will miss him but we must consider the age factor as well,” Zeeshan added. India’s Davis Cup captain Anand Amritraj said it was up to the player. “Somdev is playing the Davis Cup. For him, Asian Games is not high priority. His ranking has dropped and he wants to work on it. He told me that if he plays in Incheon, he would miss three ATP tournaments.”
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Tennis Association and AITA vice-president Karti P Chidambaram lashed out at AITA for ignoring the state’s players. “Somdev is a singles player. They have replaced him with Divij, who is a doubles specialist. What is the logic? We still have two weeks to go for the Games. Their blanket policy to exclude these three boys just because they want to get back at me is not done,” he said.
Oza said they had no agenda against Tamil Nadu players. “We considered Ramkumar (Ramanathan) and Jeevan (Nedunchezhiyan) but went ahead with Divij because he was already in the reserve. If we have to include another player at this stage, getting his accreditation becomes a problem as the last date is over. Somehow, they (TNTA) have always felt as partisans. What is the point in just naming a player and him not getting an opportunity to play,” Oza said.