Tereza Mihalikova Wins ITF Women's Tennis Tournament in Bhopal But Fails to Find a Transport Back to Hotel!

Slovakian tennis star Tereza Mihalikova defeated Emily Webley Smith of Great Britain in the singles finals match at the USD 15000 International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women’s Tennis Tournament at Arera Club in Bhopal. The 19-year-old needed three sets 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 to get better of her equally determined opponent. Tereza was handed the winner’s trophy and cheque by B.P Singh Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh, who was also the Chief Guest for the event. Everything seemed to be going Tereza Mihalikova’s way till the tourney champion was left to fend off for herself the way back to her hotel on the busy streets of Bhopal!

The teenage champ and her coach were spotted struggling to land a transport in order to reach their destination. This speaks volumes about the state of tournaments, the treatment meted out by players at the hands of organizers and above all – India’s hollow belief in Atithi Devo Bhava, which means that a guest is akin to the god, one of the country’s most ancient and traditional maxims.

According to the TOI reports, after winning the tournament, Tereza Mihalikova and her coach Martin Hromec, former Slovak tennis player were seen trying to stop local autorickshaws in order to reach the hotel, they were staying in. And, let’s be honest, it is a daunting task for us desis to get an autorickshaw, you can only imagine the plight of a foreign national in the similar situation.

While many vehicles zoomed passed the duo, the one that stopped were annoying (read: creepy) as these autowallahs asked them “Kahaan jana hai,” (where do you want to go) although they had passengers. One such auto driver suggests Tereza to ‘adjust’ sitting with another male passenger, which the tennis player refused politely. Yes, this was the condition of the former Australian Open Junior champion and freshly crowned ITF title winner in our country.

Thankfully, a Bhopal couple came to Tereza and Martin’s rescue (and our country’s saving grace). The pair who had come to watch the women’s singles final match on their eight-year-old daughter’s insistence gave the tennis champ and her coach a ride to their hotel. “We came because our eight-year-old daughter Monisha wanted to watch the singles final. It is not good to see such poor treatment of international players,” said Minal to TOI whose husband Ujwal Buchade added saying, “We were surprised that the winner and her coach were struggling to get transport. They are our guests and it’s our duty to help them.”

While the couple expressed their displeasure at the organizers, the same could not be said about the tournament director Manoj Kukreja. The man was content with his efforts saying they have ‘reimbursed’ players for the local transport. When prodded further he appeared to be blaming Tereza for opting to not stay in the two registered hotels and also not informing them of their plight so they could have made necessary arrangements! Does his counter-questioning shock you? No, right! This is what exactly what happens to players other than star cricketers in this country.

Meanwhile, Tereza Mihalikova thanked the couple for helping her (and coach) out and was “very grateful”. But the bigger question looms how does India project itself to be providing the best platform in the sporting world when they are flawed at the most basic levels. From ill-treating national players such as I-League winners Aizawl FC's U-15 footballers made to sit on train floor to this latest incident of ill-management in Tereza Mihalikova’s case, where do we head from here now?

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 11, 2018 10:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).