OC treasurer's son heads firm laying Games tennis turf

NEW DELHI: The Commonwealth Games seem to be all about family and friends. In a clear case of conflict of interest, the contract for laying 14 synthetic surfaces at the R K Khanna Tennis Stadium — a Commonwealth Games venue — was awarded to a company whose Indian branch is headed by the son of the treasurer of the Games Organizing Committee, Anil Khanna.

The contract has been given to Australiabased Rebound Ace, a company whose Indian distributors are Rebound Ace India Private Limited, where Khanna’s son Aditya Khanna is the chief executive officer.

What’s further damning is that, according to sources, a top Indian player has already twisted his ankle while playing on this surface. The Rebound rubberized surface has been criticized by several leading players, including Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt, in the past.

It was earlier used at the Australian Open and then replaced in 2007 in the wake of criticism that it got sticky during high temperatures, thus increasing chances of player injury.

When contacted by TOI, Anil Khanna, arguably the most powerful and influential man in Indian tennis, denied that AITA had any role in offering the contract to Rebound Ace. He added that this company’s name was one of the three names recommended by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

He added, ‘‘ AITA was never part of the contract process. OC had asked ITF for recommendations and they sent three names including Rebound Ace. After that, DDA floated the tender and picked Rebound Ace, whose quotation, I believe, was much less than the other two. The deal is with Rebound Ace, based in Australia. So my son’s company is not going to get a single rupee.’’