ISLAMABAD: The secretary of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Tuesday called for a bilateral series against Pakistan, saying it would promote the sport in the two nuclear-armed countries.
The Indian tennis team arrived in Pakistan this week to play a Davis Cup playoff scheduled for Feb. 3 and 4. The visit marked the first time in 60 years that an Indian Davis Cup team had traveled to Pakistan.
The two neighbors have fought several wars since winning independence from British rule in 1947, and sporting contests between the countries have long been victims of their enduring animosity.
“There should be a bilateral tennis series between Pakistan and India,” AITA Secretary-General Anil Dhupar told reporters in Islamabad. “Bilateral series will help in the promotion of the tennis of both countries.”
Dhupar called for improving “sports diplomacy” between the two countries, adding that they should both “move forward” in sports.
New Delhi last hosted the Pakistani tennis team in 2006 and the Indian Davis Cup team last traveled to Islamabad in 1964, according to Indian media reports.
Sports matches between India and Pakistan are rare owing to decades of hostility between the two nations.
They share one of the world’s greatest sporting rivalries in cricket, by far the most popular sport in both countries.
But their teams have not played a bilateral series in more than a decade, and typically only face each other in larger tournaments.
India refused to travel to Pakistan for the 50-over Asia Cup in September, a move that forced its neighbor to partially relinquish hosting duties to Sri Lanka.
Pakistan traveled to India the following month for the Cricket World Cup after its request to stage some matches in a third country was rejected.
Dhupar said the Indian team did not ask for a no-objection certificate from its government to travel to Pakistan, saying they knew the Davis Cup would be played in the neighboring country.
“We were aware of the fact that these matches will take place in Pakistan and we will have to go to Pakistan for the Davis Cup,” he said. “That is why we were prepared for this visit.”
