The selection of Ramkumar Ramanathan, ranked 508 in singles and 212 in doubles, for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou has compelled a bunch of agitated players led by Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan to shoot a communication to the All India Tennis Association (AITA), expressing anguish and seeking justice for deserving players.
“I hope we have a fair selection process wherein we choose our best players for each event. In 2019 for the Asian Games, we did not send two of our strongest doubles teams, and we missed an opportunity to secure another medal”, wrote Jeevan in his communication, endorsed by the rest of the top-10 doubles players in the country, figuring above Ramkumar in the national ranking list.
It may be recalled that in the last Asian Games in Indonesia, Leander Paes had withdrawn at the last minute and there was no replacement. Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan did win the doubles gold, but the second doubles team of Sumit Nagal and Ramkumar Ramanathan had lost in the quarterfinals.
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Ranked fourth best in the country behind Bopanna (11), Yuki Bhambri (76), and Saketh Myneni (77), the 91st-ranked Jeevan clarified that he was resting his wrist after the French Open, and was ready to compete in Wimbledon.
When Jeevan had called the chairman of selection committee Nandan Bal seeking clarification on the choice of players, it was revealed that there had been a wrong mention in the selection discussion that he had undergone a surgery.
Jeevan was equally upset that players behind him, including his partner Sriram Balaji (94), Anirudh Chandrasekar (117), Arjun Kadhe (123), Vijay Sundar Prashanth (132), Purav Raja (146), and last time gold medallist Divij Sharan (162), were all ignored.
In its release announcing the team, the AITA had mentioned: “The Chairman of the Professional Selection Committee, Nandan Bal, after considering valuable suggestions from the committee members and team captains, has recommended the following players to represent the country in the Asian Games”.
The captain of the Davis Cup team and also the captain of the men’s team for the Asian Games, Rohit Rajpal responded by saying, “We have done the selection in the larger interest of the country and have not done a favour to any player”.
“I missed out in the last Asian Games as there was no time to send a replacement when Leander withdrew. It hurts to find myself in a similar position again. We should put together the two best doubles teams to win two medals in the Asian Games. The entry deadline is July 15. There is time to correct the mistake”, said Jeevan.
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