Livid AITA hits back at Chidambaram

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Tuesday hit out at its vice-president Karti P Chidambaram for questioning the Davis Cup team selection and asked why he did not raise the issue when he was the chairman of the Davis Cup Committee.

Chidambaram had shot a letter to the Sports Ministry seeking their intervention in resolving the crisis which began when 11 players made themselves unavailable for the upcoming tie against Korea.

The AITA was forced to select a depleted side, which has only Leander Paes as the top player.

Chidambaram then wrote another letter to members of the federation asking why AITA went ahead with the selection committee when there was time to resolve the crisis.

AITA selected the team on January 11 and the last date to submit the players list to the ITF was January 22.

AITA argued that the Davis Cup teams were selected well ahead of deadlines even when Chidambaram was heading the committee, referring to the selection for the last six ties.

AITA hinted it may take a disciplinary action against Chidambaram as it has decided to discuss this issue in the next Executive Committee meeting on February 3.

"Mr. Chidambaram, while he was Chairman of the Davis Cup Committee, did not bring up any issues of players’ concerns with AITA. AITA is not going to change the team for the current Davis Cup tie against Korea as that will be most unfair to the players who are practicing very hard for preparation of the Davis Cup tie," AITA Secretary General Bharat Oza said in a statement.

"Chidambaram would have been well advised as vice-president to write a letter to the AITA. Unfortunately he has written no letter to the Secretary General of AITA but has gone straight to the media. AITA will discuss this issue along with other matters raised in various letters of Office Bearers and Executive Committee members in the next Executive Committee Meeting in Feb 2013," the statement also signed by AITA CEO Hironmoy Chatterjee said.