The Union Sports Ministry is not happy with the organizers of the Australian Open after they denied Indian tennis star Aman Dahiya entry to the tournament without vaccination. Dahiya, who was hoping to compete in the Junior Grand Slam, saw his vaccine exemption application rejected by the organisers, even as he accepted the request of men’s world number one Novak Djokovic.
So far, organizers of the Australian Open have accepted only four-five applications for vaccine exemptions, including from defending champion Novak Djokovic, out of 26 requests. It is not known whether juniors are involved in this. All participants of the Melbourne tournament starting 17 January must respond or receive a medical exemption, which is granted only after evaluation by two panels of independent experts.
India made COVID vaccination available for people aged 15 to 18 from January 3 and Dahiya, who is ranked 78 in the ITF junior rankings, is still awaiting his first shot.
“World No. 1, Novak gets an exemption from the two vaccine dosage rule and Aman Dahiya is denied entry because he is 17 and does not have a vaccine. The blame goes to the organizers of the Australian Open. This kind of third world treatment given to India should stop.”
On receiving the news that his application was rejected, Dahiya said, “Felt hurt. I felt sad after Djokovic was allowed to play and I was denied admission for the same thing.” He said, ‘Law should be the same for all. This is a double standard.’
Dahiya’s coach Jignesh Rawal said that the player was missing the opportunity to play on the biggest stage of his life because of a harsh call.
“We thought they were too strict but we saw that they allowed Djokovic, who didn’t have a single vaccine,” Raval told AFP.
“In a simple email he said ‘you can’t come’ but Mr. Djokovic you can because you’re famous. I respect Djokovic but the law should remain the same for all.”
According to AFP, the tournament’s medical exemption panel rejected Dahiya’s request, writing: “Under current Australian guidelines, the applicant would be considered eligible for vaccination and therefore not eligible for exemption.”
Dahiya is only one of two Indians in the junior top-100 along with Chirag Duhan (77).
Meanwhile, Djokovic’s entry to defend his title in Melbourne has sparked a fierce reaction in Australia. Tournament chief Craig Tilly said “no special favor” was given to the defending champions, but urged the Serbian to explain why he got the exemption, in order to quell public anger.
The Victoria state government mandated that only fully vaccinated players, officials and fans would be allowed to enter Melbourne Park.
(with agency input)
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