Political Sports...
It’s always sad when politics enters the playing field… In early July, Indonesia refused to travel to Israel and forfeited its Federation Cup tie against Israel because of Israel’s recent military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel has rising star, Shahar Peer, and veteran, Anna Smashnova, and the match was significant for both teams because the winner of the tie, Israel, now advances to the Federation Cup World Group for 2007. The two countries do not have diplomatic relations, but this was a missed opportunity to strengthen the ties between the two countries. The ITF President, Francesco Ricci Bitti said it best, “The (Indonesian) team was ready and willing to play and understood, perhaps better than their government, that sport in its purest form is about building bridges.” Sadly, the troubles between Israel and Lebanon have now led to the cancellation of the Sony Ericsson tournament planned for October, 2006.
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