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As the harassment case led to the charge of age fraud against young Davis Cupper and four others

By: PTI |

Published: 7 July 2020, 18:00:24 pm





The Indian Davis Cup team will travel to Pakistan in September (Representative image)

A case of harassment, pursued vigorously by a desperate father, ended up revealing alleged age fraud by a young Davis Cupper and four others, although the national tennis federation approached the issue that plagued the sport For years.

The junior player was allegedly harassed by other trainees, including a Davis Cup junior player, at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) complex. Subsequent revelations about age fraud, thanks to the efforts of the girl’s father, are also investigated by the police.

The father, who cannot be identified as a child victim, said the girl was molested for the first time in May 2019, once again passed the ordeal in July before filing a FIR in August. He said he was convinced that the harassers were too old.

“The CLTA was supposed to help me in this case, but a FIR counter was filed against me instead. They didn’t believe that the players were too big. We were the victims, but the CLTA hired lawyers to protect the players. Even their bail bonds have been filled by CLTA officials, “he said in a telephone conversation with PTI.

“Can you believe it? Those players are still playing CLTA when they should have been punished. These five players were enrolled under the CHART program, for which CLTA receives huge funds from the clubs.

“So it’s understandable why they tried to protect those players and harassed me,” he said.

He claimed that CLTA helped them obtain false age certificates in 2013 after joining the Chandigarh Academy for Rural Tennis (CHART) program in 2012. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) as part of its CSR initiative , supports CHART.

The relentless father traveled to Rohtak, Palwal and Hisar, reaching government schools where the accused had studied at elementary level and had discovered their original date of birth.

In November he said he had enough documents to clarify that CLTA trainees had passed their age.

The birth certificate of one of the five players has even been canceled from the clerk’s office and the proceedings are taking place against others.

The All India Tennis Association, often accused of being lax in addressing age fraud, had no clear answer to what happened to CLTA. AITA has often cited the lack of resources to perform bone age by determining the Tanner whitehouse 3 test, in the event of age fraud claims.

Once contacted, Corps Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee said, “We are aware of the matter. It is worrying that the name of a Davis Cup player is involved in the case (harassment). It is shameful. We asked CLTA for a report. “

CLTA secretary general Sudhir Rajpal declined to comment, saying the matter is a sub-judge while his COO Meghraj did not respond to calls or messages.

Chatterjee said that AITA will wait for the court to pronounce a ruling on age-based fraud before deciding on its future course of action.

“We are not out there to suspect people. We know he has been going on for years with donkeys not only in tennis but in other sports too, ”Chatterjee replied rather abruptly when asked why the body was reactive rather than proactive on such a sensitive issue.

“If we suspect something, we ask for other documents. There are some coaches who do it, ”is all he has been able to offer about lack of action so far.

Vishal Uppal was the captain of the Indian team, who introduced the defendant to one of the junior editions of the Davis Cup. He asked for a rigorous age verification, the cost of which should be borne by the families of the players.

“There must be a strong deterrent. The AITA must make the age verification test mandatory at the time of registration and to play for citizens. The cost should be borne by the parents. it’s a one-off thing. “

“There must be severe punishment. Just moving the category isn’t enough, “he said.

Former India Davis Cupper Somdev Devvarman spoke of a time when he became a victim of age fraud.

“I lost a certain boy too old in my junior days. It hurts. But it is not the child’s fault, it is the coaches and parents. People in position can make a difference but they are the most incompetent, “he exulted.

“Everyone knows it, so why nobody is doing anything about it. It’s not as bad in tennis as it is in other sports. It’s a big problem. Perhaps the Ministry of Sports and AITA need to have separate departments to review it. “

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