E-Paper
‘Clause intrusive but necessary’
Tennis star Leander Paes is not too happy with the incessant demands of the whereabouts clause but philosophically terms it ‘one of those necessities which need not be pleasant’.
Tennis star Leander Paes is not too happy with the incessant demands of the whereabouts clause but philosophically terms it ‘one of those necessities which need not be pleasant’.
“There is no doubt that it is a bit intrusive. But then it does keep sport clean. It is certainly needed for in modern sport the stakes are so high that people are willing to go any distance to get an edge.”
He is, however, not too pleased with the small window to inform about last-minute change in plans.
“One of the hassles with the whole scheme is that it is difficult to always intimate last minute changes. Bob Bryan (world number 1 doubles player) has already got two warnings as he did not happen to be precisely where he said he would be. I got a warning early this year as I forgot to fill in my details.”
Paes gets the hassle over with by submitting his schedule every quarter: “When I not playing I am usually in Mumbai but then in case of emergency if I have to rush to some other part of the country, WADA can theoretically penalise me for not being where I said I would be. The system needs to be improved but as of now this is what we have and one has to comply with it.”
