First Indian Wheelchair Tennis team selected for BNP Paribas World Team Cup Regional Qualifier

New Delhi: The All India Tennis Association (AITA) announces the team selection for India’s maiden participation in BNP Paribas World Team Cup Regional Qualification event to be held from 9th to 16th May 2021 at Vilamoura, Portugal.

The Indian side will contest for one of the four Regional Qualification spots available to reach the World Group event of BNP Paribas World Team Cup 2021.

10 nations – Great Britain, France, Japan, Argentina, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, USA, Korea Rep. and Brazil – who have received direct entries and two Wild Card entries, will complete the 16-team field of the World Team Cup World Group event.

Following players are selected to represent India for the BNP Paribas World Team Cup Regional Qualifier for
Asia/Oceania:
1. Mariappan Durai
2. Shekar Veeraswamy
3. Karthik Karunakaran
4. Balachandra S (Reserve)

The Asia/Oceania regional qualifying are being held in Portugal this year due to challenges and uncertainty presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and to minimise the risk of disruption for both the Qualification and World Group events.

World Team Cup – a brief history
The World Team Cup was created in 1985. Just six men’s teams competed in the inaugural event with women joining the competition with two teams the following year.

In 1992 the World Team Cup moved outside the USA for the first time and was hosted by Belgium. Since then, 19 different countries have staged the event.

Now the BNP Paribas World Team Cup is a massive standalone tournament with over 300 participants and around 150 additional guests and coaches each year.

The event has grown to include quad (which started in 1998) and junior (which began in 2000) draws.