By Nick Georgandis
India has long strived to have itself taken seriously in international play, but now several top players have staged a revolt against the country’s governing body concerning what they feel is unfair compensation for participating in the Davis Cup, as well as poor leadership.
Led by Somdev Devvarman, the former NCAA champion, a group of eight high-profile Indian players, sent a letter to the All-India Tennis Association (AITA) earlier this week requesting a more balanced distribution of Davis Cup earnings, as well as the removal of the squad’s captain, Shiv Misra and national coach, Nandan Bal.
The Indian Davis Cup squad is set to be announced January 11, and will square off against South Korea in its opening tie of 2013.
Players went as far as to say they'll skip the country's Davis Cup tie if they are required to sign a code of conduct with the AITA, which would null and void the demands of their letter.
Presently, money is split 50:50 for Davis Cup participation between the AITA and players, but the players' 50% is further divided based on a weighted mathematical equation.
The players want the distribution to be equal.
The row continues some six months of rough times for Indian tennis, which got fiery last summer when both Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna refused to play doubles in the Summer Olympics with Leander Paes, the country’s most decorated, but controversial, player ever.
The AITA claimed it had barred Bhupathi and Bopanna from further competition, but both men participated in the Olympics regardless, as did Paes.
Neither of the men's doubles teams had any impact on the medal rounds.