12 Sunday, April 26, 2020 Sports French Open now eyeing September 27 start: Report AFP/DPA eration (FFT) declined to would give a two-week pause Delaying by another week PARIS confirm the report, but said after the US Open, which is would allow the ATP and in a statement: “The FFT currently scheduled to finish WTA tours a week to re- THE organisers of the French is in contact with the inter- on September 13. arrange a postponed clay Open, who were criticised for national bodies, the AFP, Wimbledon, which was to event - potentially in Ma- unilaterally moving the tour- WTA and ITF, and is waiting have been played from June drid or Rome - as a Grand nament to a September start for the calendar to be con- 29 to July 12, has been can- Slam tune-up should the without consulting other ten- firmed by them.” The FFT celled. US Open not be able to start nis federations, could delay caused surprise in the tennis The French tennis fed- as planned on August 31. the event by another week, a world by announcing in mid- eration previously caused ir- Another advantage would report said on Friday. March, just as France was ritation in leading tennis cir- be avoiding a clash with the The claycourt Grand going into lockdown because cles by unilaterally moving rearranged Tour de France, Slam could now start on Sep- of the pandemic outbreak, their tournament. It clashed now due to finish in Paris on tember 27 instead of Septem- that it was moving from its with the now postponed La- September 20. ber 20, preceded by a week original May 24-June 7 slot ver Cup and was due to start Neither French Open of qualification matches, Le to the September date. a week after the US Open organisers nor regular tour Parisien newspaper said. If the tournament is de- finished in New York on Sep- chiefs commented on the po- The Philippe Chatrier court at Roland Garros, complete with a new retractable roof, would host the finals of The French Tennis Fed- layed until September 27, it tember 13. tential delay. the French Open. (AFP) Becker and Stich to Charity’s Paralympic celebrate Olympic doubles gold — dream under threat after 28 years AFP LONDON DPA BERLIN THE dream of a dozen female athletes to represent Team GB FORMER German tennis at the Paralympics is hang- greats and rivals Boris Becker ing by a thread as the charity and Michael Stich plan to final- scrambles to find the money to ly celebrate their 1992 Olym- sustain them for another year pics doubles gold medal, Stich after the Games were post- has said. poned due to the coronavirus “The date and the meal to- pandemic. gether will definitely happen. The 1991 Wimbledon champion Indian philanthropist Anita Boris and I are completely re- Michael Stich. Choudhrie’s struggle to fund laxed about the past,” Stich her Path to Success charity il- told the DAZN and Spox por- thing again today, but I con- lustrates the wider problems tals in an interview late on sidered it the right thing to faced by charities and Paralym- Thursday. do at the time.” Stich added pic sport as a result of the chaos Three-time Wimbledon “we know we owe each other a wrought by COVID-19. champion Becker and Stich, lot” and said he was “eternally Choudhrie launched the who famously beat him for the grateful for this success which Path to Tokyo programme on 1991 crown at the All England I could have never achieved International Women’s Day Club, were mostly bitter rivals without Boris.” Stich also said two years ago to inspire a new during their careers. the expectations from the Ger- generation of British female But they joined forces oc- man public in them were unre- parathletes. casionally, such as at the 1992 alistic but that the rivalry also 2020 should have been a Games in Barcelona where brought out the best in them. significant year for them as they beat South Africans “We were rivals from the they chased medals and glory Wayne Ferreira and Piet Nor- same country. The expecta- in Japan. val for the gold. tions that we had to be friends However, the postpone- “Boris and I only met for just because both of us were ment to 2021 due to the global practice and the matches at the from Germany were totally ab- pandemic has placed enor- Olympics. I lived in the Olym- surd,” he said. mous strains on a charity with pic village, he outside of it. Af- “We always wanted to be an annual budget of £200,000 ter the victory I just wanted to better than the other one and ($245,000). go home quickly,” Stich said. stand out even more. In this “To see all the athletes Lucy Shuker (left) says she is worried where funding will come from so she can bid for a third successive Paralympic doubles tennis medal in 2021. (AFP) “Was that a mistake? Defi- way we spurred each other on having to return home (from nitely. I wouldn’t do the same to extreme top performances.” training camps and qualifi- tor grandfather to embrace tremely worrying time for us.” Her anxiety for the ath- Lucy Shuker, a two-time Para- cation events), not knowing charitable projects, explained Choudhrie, who is also letes is not just what an extra lympic bronze medallist in when they are next going to be that funding relies heavily on trying to raise funds through year means for their funding women’s doubles who is sup- able to compete, was extreme- two annual showpiece events social media, said British fi- but also whether some may ported by Choudhrie’s charity, ly hard,” said Choudhrie, who -- an indoor wheelchair bas- nance minister Rishi Sunak’s miss the quadrennial event for sees the postponement as a lives in London. ketball tournament, which has announcement of a £750 mil- health reasons. glass half full situation. “In spite of not having the been indefinitely postponed, lion package of support for “I am extremely concerned “Of course the Paralym- funds to carry on we have ful- and a fundraising gala, which charities was welcome. about their mental and physi- pics being postponed is a big filled our commitment to our is on hold. “Whilst this package is a cal state for this unknown game changer but really it de- athletes,” she said, referring “In the absence of both step in the right direction, we year ahead,” she said. pends how you look at it,” the to the training expenses re- these events, we are now de- are very concerned that it will “This has been especially 39-year-old told AFP. quired for 2020. pending largely on the gen- not be enough to stretch to devastating for the athletes we “I’ve tried to see the posi- “With the added public- erosity of individuals to help all and prevent small, hard- support who are living with a tive in that it is another year ity around the Paralympics we meet our £200,000 annual working charities like Path degenerative disease such as to work hard, to better myself were hoping to be able to extend budget,” said Choudhrie. to Success from closing their multiple sclerosis. and hopefully get stronger. our programme. However, now “However, understand- doors,” she said. “For them, a lot can “However, there is certain- we are having to concentrate on ably so are a lot of other “We don’t have any ma- change in a year with regards ly a knock-on effect in terms keeping the charity running in charities. jor celebrity backers or big to their personal health, and of funding this extra year. the short term.” “We have already lost organisations behind us, so so our hope is that they will “Tennis is an expensive around £50,000 and we esti- our fundraising activity is be strong enough to fulfil their sport as we travel exten- ‘EspECIALLY DEvastating’ mate that we have around four crucial to enable us to carry ambitions of competing at the sively throughout the year Choudhrie, who was in- months until the charity runs on supporting these brilliant Tokyo Games next year.” to compete on the interna- Former German tennis greats Boris Becker (left) and Michael Stich spired by her Delhi-based doc- out of money, so it’s an ex- athletes.” Wheelchair tennis star tional tour.” with the doubles gold medals at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. The tennis jet-set think local to reboot their sport AFP times and with different rules. pecially as there will be no other ments, playing in front of emp- PARIS “It will be difficult to start live sports at the same time. ty stands is bad for the image. the tour because our tour is eve- He plans 10 matches per “Can you imagine a Grand AS the weeks go by, the globe- ry week in different countries,” weekend for five weeks as part Slam final without anyone in trotting world of top-level he said. of an event called Ultimate Ten- the stands?” Fognini asked tennis remains in limbo and “I think there will be re- nis Showdown (UTS). Djokovic. the season looks increasingly gional prize money tourna- To date, four players have The Tunisian Ons Jabeur, compromised by the corona- ments, but probably not been announced: David Gof- a 25-year-old who started the virus pandemic. (rankings) points.” fin, Fognini, Benoit Paire and season with a breakthrough A glimmer of hope is Austria and Germany have Alexei Popyrin.