VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam's top junior tennis player Ly Hoang Nam was not permitted by its managing agency to join the national team at the Davis Cup and the Vietnam Tennis Federation has threatened to impose severe penalties on him.

Ly Hoang Nam.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, vice president and general secretary of the Vietnam Tennis Federation (VTF) said that Nam’s case would create bad precedent and the federation did not allow this to happen.

Ky said that athletes - beyond their obligations to the managing agency - shall also be responsible for national duties and obligations of a citizen to the country.

In the case of Ly Hoang Nam, if he does not representative Vietnam at the Davis Cup, he would face severe penalties from the Sports and Physical Training Administration and the VTF, Ky added. The penalties may be a three-year ban from all tennis tournaments held by the VTF.

Earlier, Nam and his coach – Mr. Tran Duc Quynh - were reminded by the VTF because they did not participate in the qualifying round in Asia of the 2013 Davis Cup.

Tran Duc Quynh, Nam’s coach from the age of nine, said that the VTF can invite players to take part in the Davis Cup and Fed Cup and athletes can refuse because it is not their duties or obligations as VTF thought.

“Joining the national team is the honor for all citizens but for some reasons when athletes refuse it, the honor will be given to the others," Quynh said.

He also quoted the cases of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan who withdrew from the national team for the Davis Cup to compete in a tournament in Rotterdam or Li Na’s withdrawal from the Fed Cup team of China for a long time as examples. The Serbian player Novak Djokovic or Spanish player Rafael Nadal also withdrew from the Davis Cup this year though they are not attending any tournaments at the same time.

For the case of Ly Hoang Nam, his managing agency - Becamex Binh Duong – did not allow him to compete at the Davis Cup because this player has just participated in a lot of competitions in the U.S. and South America in the last two months.

Becamex Binh Duong also said that the five-set matches in the Davis Cup will be not good for the health of a young player like Nam. This sponsor said that they would only send Nam to the appropriate tournaments.

Mr. Le Viet Cuong, General Secretary of the Binh Duong Provincie Tennis Federation, said Nam’s family supported this decision. Cuong even planed to withdraw the young player from the South Asian Games in South Korea in September 2014 because Nam is to busy at another tournament at that time, which is more suitable to his ability.

Coach Tran Duc Quynh said: "Wherever in the world, the responsibility of the Tennis Federation is to organize leagues, train good coaches and great athletes. Not to wait for the others to train good players and then says that these athletes are its own assets by vague reasons."

Quynh, who has trained Nam from the age of nine, said: “I recently escorted Nam to all competitions in the US and South America. Everywhere he was cheered by Vietnamese audiences. The Vietnam flag was hung during all games. There are many ways to contribute to the nation and to me; Nam has never abandoned his duties and responsibilities to the nation."

Quynh’s viewpoint is warmly supported by the public opinion. Many said that the VTF is only a social organization and it did not pay a penny to develop a talent like Nam so it does not have the right to summon or fine him. They also criticized the federation’s movement as “unprofessional”.

Vietnam will face Pakistan in the qualifier round, group II of Davis Cup in Da Lat City on February 14.

The Pakistan team arrived in HCM City on February 8.

Nguyen Dung