LONDON: India will be allowed back in the Davis Cup ‘as zonal competitors next year, despite its refusal to play Israel in a world group relegation playoff last April, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Thursday.
India, beaten by Sweden in last year’s Davis Cup final, had been automatically suspended from the 1989 competition and relegated to the 1990 Asian zone qualifying competition for failing to send a team to Tel Aviv.
A strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, the Indian government said in March that the team would not travel to Israel in protest against events in the Israeli occupied territories.
But the ITF statement said India’s withdrawal from the tie had not been for political reasons.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 15, 1988
