HC rejects soft tennis players plea for Asiad nod

The Delhi High Court today dismissed a plea filed by eight soft tennis players who sought a direction to the Centre that they be allowed to participate in the ongoing Incheon Asian Games.
A bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru which had allowed a similar plea of nine taekwondo players and a coach during the day, however, said that the case of the soft tennis players was not on the same footing.
"In Saurav and others (taekwondo case), the government had approved the selected candidates to be trained for participation in the Asian Games and had granted their express approval for the athletes to travel to Tehran for training as a run up to their participation in the Asian Games," it said.

"No such representation can be inferred in the facts of the present case. Although the manner in which Respondent 1 (Ministry of Sports) has proceeded to conduct its business in selection of the Indian contingent is dispiriting, the decision of respondent 1 to not participate in the discipline of Soft Tennis in the Asian Games cannot be interfered with in these proceedings," the court said while dismissing the plea.
Earlier in the day, the court had come to the help of nine left-out taekwondo players and their coach by asking the Centre and others to "forthwith" grant the administrative approval to their participation in the Asian Games, on the ground that the decision to leave them from the touring contingent was "arbitrary".

However, the bench said that in the case of soft tennis, the players were not given the final approval by the Centre that they would be sent to the Asian Games.
The soft tennis players, four boys and four girls, had alleged that they had been dropped "summarily" from the touring contingent at the eleventh hour even after their parents gave the requisite formal consent on behalf of their wards to take part in the sporting extravaganza which began on September 19.