17-year-old Tennis player Aman Dahiya was denied entry to the Australian Open owing to the rules that only vaccinated players would be allowed to enter. However, in earlier development, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic was granted a medical exemption and has been allowed to participate in the tournament by the officials, despite being unvaccinated. This move of the Victoria state government has stirred quite a controversy worldwide.
Aman Dahiya, 17 who hails from Haryana had made it to the Australian Open Junior Championships but was denied entry as he was yet to be vaccinated. Owing to the fact that vaccination for teenagers had only begun in India recently, Dahiya’s coach also explored the possibility of getting him vaccinated outside India. However, this could not be made possible because of logistics and funding issues.
Aman Dahiya (world ranking. 78) currently trains at Altevol Tennis academy in Ahmedabad and had even played with blisters at the ITF Asian B1 Championships in Pune, last month with a hope to qualify for the Australian Open.
‘Are rules different for bigger players?’ Dahiya’s coach asks
Dahiya’s coach Jignesh Rawal has lashed out at the Australian Open organisers for their preferential treatment of Djokovic and discrimination against the Indian Player. “Are the rules different if you’re a bigger player?” He asked. Sighting this as a case of discrimination, he lashed, “They exempted Djokovic but denied a visa to us on same grounds. Aman is 17 – when we applied for a visa he was not eligible for the vaccine so is that not enough for a medical exemption.”
Rawal clarified that earlier he had sought permission for Aman to be vaccinated with a single dose with a seven-day quarantine after arrival in Australia. First, they agreed to quarantine but then wrote back to us saying they can not allow Dahiya without completing 2 doses.
“He (Aman) has 15 ITF titles, eight in singles and seven in doubles. Not many Indians can claim that in the last 20 years.” Rawal mentioned that Aman comes from a humble family where his father earns Rs. 10,000 a month. No help has come from the state and central authorities, according to him.
Meanwhile, the vaccine exemption granted to Novak Djokovic has ignited much controversy worldwide. The move has been labelled as an act of ‘elitism’ in giving preferential treatment to big players. The vaccination status of Djokovic is still unclear as last year he said he was “opposed to vaccination”. The Serbian tennis player will defend his entry after being granted “medical exemption” from the vaccine mandate by the Australian Open authorities.
Earlier, Russian player Natalia Vikhlyantseva was denied entry because the Russian Sputnik vaccine is not recognised by the Australian govt.
‘Entitled to feel particularly aggrieved is Natalia Vikhlyantseva, who was denied entry because her Sputnik vaccine had not been approved, and the Indian junior Aman Dahiya, who cannot play because under-18s cannot yet receive jabs in his country.’ https://t.co/ehCSqnVe85
— Tash Robinson (@NC_Robinson) January 5, 2022
While entry requirements should be the same for an aspiring player and a nine-time Australian Open Champion, the officials have minced no words while denying entry to Aman Dahiya. Should this act of preferential treatment be flagged off as discrimination alone; or does this qualify for racism?
Racism against Indians is not a new thing in Australia. The country’s portfolio in curtailing racism and abuse in the arena of sports is rather bleak. recently, Ex-Australian cricket player Kerry O’Keeffe racially abused Indian player Mayank Agrawal in a commentary. The instances of Australian fans racially sledging against Indian players during cricket matches have also increased.
17-year-old Aman Dahiya was not able to vaccinate himself in India owing to the vaccine regulations while Tennis star Novak Novak Djokovic chose voluntarily not to vaccinate himself. Yet the latter is being allowed to participate in the Open. Obscure regulations and preferential treatments in sports are disheartening to see.
