Indian tennis teen blasts Australian Open vaccine 'double standards'

A TEENAGE tennis player from India has slammed the Australian Open organisers after he was denied entry to the tournament for being unvaccinated against coronavirus. Aman Dahiya was upset with the fact that world No.1 Novak Djokovic was exempted despite not taking the jab and called it “double standards”.

All participants at the tournament which will kick off in Melbourne on January 17 must be inoculated or have a medical exemption which is granted only after two panels of independent experts assess the cases.

Djokovic, who is the defending champion at the Australian Open and won the crown a record nine times, has repeatedly refused to confirm if he has been jabbed and his vaccine exemption has ignited a backlash.

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Dahiya, who was barred from the qualifying event of the junior Australian Open because he has not been vaccinated yet, is still waiting for his first jab. The player, who is placed 78 in the ITF junior rankings, is 17 years of age and given that India’s vaccination drive for those aged between 15 and 18 years has just started, he has to wait for a while.

In an email which was witnessed by AFP, the tournament’s medical exemption panel turned down Dahiya’s request saying, “Under current Australian guidelines, the applicant would be considered eligible for vaccination and therefore does not qualify for exemption.”

“I felt hurt after Djokovic was allowed to play and while I was denied entry for the same thing,” Dahiya said, adding, “The law should be the same for all. This is double standards.”

Jignesh Rawal, the youngster’s coach, was also disappointed and said Dahiya was missing the opportunity of a lifetime to play on a big stage due to the harsh call.

“We thought they are very strict but we saw they allow Djokovic who did not have one vaccine,” he told AFP.

“In a simple email they said 'you can't come' but Mr. Djokovic you can because you are famous. I respect Djokovic but the law should remain the same for everyone,” Rawal added.

He said Dahiya belongs to a modest background in the northern Indian state of Haryana where his father earns about Rs 10,000 (£99) a month.

Djokovic’s entry, meanwhile, saw heavy criticism and tournament chief Craig Tiley said while the ace Serbian player had been given “no special favour”, he urged him to reveal why he got the exemption to mollify public anger.

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison (Photo by Sam Tabone/Getty Images)

Australian PM warns over Djokovic exemption

Meanwhile, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison talked tough on the Djokovic issue saying the latter will be “on the next plane home” of his evidence for a Covid jab exemption to play at the Australian Open was not satisfactory.

“Any individual seeking to enter Australia must comply with our border requirements,” Morrison said, as per Sky Sports.

"He has to because if he’s not vaccinated, he must provide acceptable proof that he cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons and to be able to access the same travel arrangements, as fully vaccinated travellers.

“So we await his presentation and what evidence he provides to support that. If that evidence is insufficient, then he won't be treated any different to anyone else and he'll be on the next plane home. There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all, none whatsoever,” he added.

(With ANI inputs)