A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the conduct of international sporting events in India, following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over the years, certain tournaments have become part of the annual fixture. This time, the country’s lone ATP Tour event, the Maharashtra Open, is supposed to be held in Pune from February 1, 2021.
However, sources have indicated that because of the travel restrictions, one is not sure whether this event will take place at all.
For an event which came to India first in 1996 and was held in New Delhi, it later moved to Chennai (1997) and was held there for two decades.
Over the last three years, the event has been held in Pune, fully supported by the previous BJP government in Maharashtra. This time, the ATP website says the event will be held as Tata Open but whether the event takes off is anybody’s guess.
Since March 2020, no major sporting event has been held at home. Even the IPL had to be shifted to the United Arab Emirates. Cricket’s premier club tournament will now witness the final in Dubai on November 10.
Back to the lone ATP event in India, it has seen many luminaries like Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya and Pat Rafter grace Chennai in the past. Pune has been unable to attract the big players, which is partly due to the lower tier prize money at stake.
What is also a bit surprising this time is the Pune ATP event has not been given a slot before the Australian Open, which is expected to be played now in a bio bubble in Melbourne.
At a time when Covid-19 cases in India are still not in control and Maharashtra has been badly hit by the virus, it remains to be seen how many players from abroad will want to visit in February 2021.
2021 being the year of the postponed Tokyo Olympics, players will chose their travel very carefully. It is not just the ATP event in Pune but also the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi next year which could run into rough weather, mainly because of travel restrictions.
For tennis lovers in India, the ATP Tour event has been a chance to see top class action, though, over the years, many marquee names have not shown up.
With the Indian government now saying no to international flights into India at large till November 20, how the sporting landscape vis a vis international tournaments in India shapes up will be interesting to watch.
As it is some national sports federations have started complaining the lack of international events in India will be a dampener. If that be the case, then tennis, which sees very few quality events in India, may also take a hit.
The last word is yet to be said, though the pessimism over the ATP Pune event is growing. Unless there is a sudden dip in Covid-19 cases in India, players will be wary of coming to this part of the world.
Mr. S. Kannan
Senior, Sports Journalist
