Young tennis player Pari Singh’s aspirations to join the rest of the Asian team for the ITF European circuit did not fructify as she was denied the French visa, despite repeated attempts by her parents,
intervention from the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) and assurance from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
The helpless parents opted to seek the permission of the ITF to let Pari join the team in the second week, and have sought to get the visa from the Netherlands, as the circuit moves from France to Holland.
Originally, there was a three-day camp in Paris followed by a tournament in France from July 8, for which Pari could not join.
She will now try to reach Netherlands for the second tournament. Three more tournaments are scheduled afterwards in France, Germany and Belgium over the subsequent three weeks.
Read: Murray optimistic he can be a top singles player again
It is a five-week exposure trip for the best in Asia to get a taste of competing in Europe, and financed by the Grand Slam Development Fund.
Pari was set to fly out on July 4. The ticket was changed to July 6 following visa uncertainty.
It is an important chance for an under-14 tennis player, and Pari is the only Indian player selected for the Asian team, following her fine performances in the World Junior Cup and two more Asian tournaments thereafter.
It may be recalled that the shooting World Cup in Delhi was denied the award of two rapid fire pistol Olympic quota places by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), when two Pakistani players were
not granted visa.
Comments
SHARE