Ramesh appointed non-playing captain

Mumbai, dec 26: The All-India Tennis Association today appointed Ramesh Krishnan as the Indian Davis Cup tennis squad's non-playing captai...

Mumbai, dec 26: The All-India Tennis Association today appointed Ramesh Krishnan as the Indian Davis Cup tennis squad8217;s non-playing captain. It was decided at the AITA executive committee meeting not to hire a coach for the team that plays Lebanon at Lucknow in the first week of February.

The decision was taken after a general consensus from members and suggestions from players who said a coach was not really necessary for the moment, said AITA lord R K Khanna. Further decision will be taken after the tie. If India beat Lebanon, they will play the winner of Korea-Japan in March or April in either India or Japan.

The decision to hire Krishnan for the season was unanimous and instantaneous after the former Davis Cupper had expressed his availability last week. No other names were discussed at the December 25 meeting held prior to the AITA annual general meeting here today.

The team for the tie will be selected at Kochi on January 15 where the selection committee would decide the four participatingplayers. Krishnan would be present at the meeting though the selection committee composition comprising chairman Shyam Minotra, SK Mishra and ex-captain Jaideep Mukherjea, whose resignation has been received and accepted could change, Khanna added.

While announcing AITA8217;s Rs 5-crore programme for the next year, Khanna said there will be five weeks of Challenger, eight Satellite and six ITF Futures for men and one week of 25,000, five 10,000 and eight 5000 tournaments for women apart from the five ITF junior meets. AITA has received permission from the International Tennis Federation to conduct five ITF junior tournaments this year including two Grade IV tourneys.

Khanna said a Level II school for coaches will be conducted in March. The association, in order to spread the mini tennis programme STI being conducted in the capital for the last two years, has supplied equipment to eight states and will do so to all other state associations. Besides, there will be also coaching camps and physicaltraining for all groups, coaching, education subsidy and travel grants for juniors while continuing support for the five players each at the five recognised centres at New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Calcutta.

The criteria of the travel grant for players participating in international tournaments is yet to be laid out, Khanna said, but will be an extension to the ad-hoc grants given to Sunil Kumar Rs 1 lakh, Manisha Malhotra Rs 50,000 and Nirupama Vaidyanathan.