PUNE, Jan 1: �What has been your vision for tennis in last 30 years,� Somdev Devvarman asked the All India Tennis Association after pulling out of the planned Centre of Excellence in New Delhi due to a drastic budget cut.
Former India player Somdev was supposed to head the Centre of Excellence. The Sports Ministry and AITA had agreed to invest Rs 20 crore to establish the centre, on the lines of the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, but eventually the budget was brought down to Rs 10 crore.
�We had made plans based on a budget that was agreed upon. We built the plan around that and if it does not follow through, then it�s impossible,� Somdev told PTI in an exclusive chat.
�Tennis is a very international sport and to get best international expertise, you need to pay international rates.�
Somdev insisted that his own remuneration was not the bone of contention.
�I was never doing it for salary and never got paid for it (devising a plan)... It was a passion project. Honestly I have no hard feelings but I want to see an alternative which is better and it works,� he said.
Somdev said tough questions need to be asked of AITA since funding was not the only issue in derailment of the plan but did not get into the specifics.
�The project is secondary, I want to ask what is your vision for Indian tennis or your vision for sport in general and how will you accomplish it.
�Leave the government aside, they are not tennis experts. Do you think you have done a good job? I am not asking this question because I want to attack anyone.
�Sometimes I am badly mistaken for being unfriendly with the AITA. It does not bother me. I am not attacking but just asking straight-forward questions,� he asserted. � PTI
