The Indian Tennis team on Sunday landed in Pakistan after 60 years for their Davis Cup tie. The players on Monday trained in Islamabad amid tight security.
To ensure the safety of the travelling Indian contingent, the Pakistan Tennis Federation will follow a strict security plan that has been approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). According to reports, the visiting team will be accompanied by the country’s head of state security. The Indian contingent was granted a visa on January 27.
The Indian contingent, with five players, two physios and two All India Tennis Association (AITA) officials landed in Islamabad on Sunday night. Movements of the Indian players’ are expected to be restricted to the venue and the hotel.
India are scheduled to face Pakistan on February 3 and 4 in a five-match tie. It is their first Davis Cup tour to Pakistan since 1964. The Indians won 4-0 in the previous occasion.
Extra precautions being taken: Pakistan
“Since an Indian team has come to Pakistan after 60 years, we are taking extra precaution. There are four to five layers of security around the Indian team. I, as event security manager, is with them during travel,” Col Gul Rehman, who is the secretary general of PTF, told news agency PTI.
“Escort vans are with the team during travel time. They will enter the hotel from the VVIP entry, which is reserved for the Head of State. Bomb disposal squads sanitised the venue in the morning, and no one will be allowed to enter the venue. It will be a drill that will be followed throughout the tie,” he added.
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