Davis Cup team leaves for India on Wednesday
Davis Cup team leaves for India on Wednesday
JAKARTA (JP): Five national Davis Cup team members have
received sponsorship to compete in three US$10,000 future
tournaments in India as a warm-up to the Davis Cup match in
February.
Team coach Dedy Prasetyo said on Tuesday that the five members
-- Sebastian Da Costa, Suwandi, Febi Widhiyanto, Hendri Susilo
Pramono and Edy Kusdaryanto -- would leave for India on
Wednesday.
Future 1 is from Jan. 10 to Jan. 16 at SAAP-APLTA Tennis
Complex in Secunderabad, F2 is from Jan. 17 to Jan. 23 at KSLTA &
Century Club at Bangalore and F3 kicks off Jan. 24 and runs to
Jan. 29 at Nungambakkan Tennis Stadium in Nungambakkan, Chenai.
The most senior member of the team, Dede Suhendar Dinata,
withdrew from the sponsorship to give the juniors a chance, said
Dedy. He added that Suwandi was sponsored by businesswoman
Martina Widjaja.
The Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) announced earlier
that Pelti would not finance the six athletes in the futures in
India for financial reasons. The athletes will be sent instead on
a tour before top officials of state-owned Petrokimia Gresik
company in East Java, privately owned Djarum and Gudang Garam
cigarette companies in Central and East Java respectively and PT
Maspion plastic company in Surabaya to seek sponsorship.
Dedy, however, insisted that the players must compete in India
as part of the training preparation for the Davis Cup match.
"We have received financial support from certain people who
refuse to have their names made public. The sponsorship includes
transportation and accommodation in India. But the amount is just
barely enough. The players are told to use the prize money to buy
their meals," he said, refusing to divulge the amount given to
each player.
But he hinted that each person received less than US$75 a day,
which was normally given to a player who competes overseas.
"The amount is beyond the standard. I'm quite ashamed to
mention it. A player normally needs about $60 to pay for his
hotel per night and another $45 for meal and transportation. But
we receive less than that," he said.
He said he would take responsibility should the money not
cover players' needs until the end of January.
The Indonesian Davis Cup team will face the second seeded
Filipinos in the first round of the Group II Asia Oceania Zone,
which will be held from Feb. 4 to Feb. 6 in the Rizal Memorial
Tennis Complex in Manila. (ivy)