Bjorn Borg walks away from felicitation ceremony after Bommai runs late

Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg walked away from a felicitation ceremony in Bengaluru on Tuesday after Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai turned up almost two hours late. The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) had organised a function to felicitate the 11-time Grand Slam winner and former Indian tennis star Vijay Amritraj, but the event could not take place as Bommai arrived late. Borg, by then, had quietly stepped away to watch his son Leo’s tennis match.

The programme to honour the former Tennis player was scheduled for 9.30am. At the last minute, it was postponed to 10.15 am to accommodate CM Bommai’s other commitments. However, he only arrived at 11.15am.

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Borg is in Bengaluru accompanying his son Leo, who has a wildcard entry for the main draw of the ongoing Bengaluru Open at KSLTA.  When Leo took to the court at 11 am for his first-round match, Borg, who was seated at the stands to watch his son play, decided to give the ceremony a miss.  He watched Leo’s match with Taiwanese tennis player Hsu Yu-hsiou for about 20 minutes before leaving the stadium.

To be felicitated at CMO

With Borg, who quit the game at the peak of his career when he was only 26, watching his son’s game and Bommai running late, KSLTA chose to cancel the event. Vijay Amritraj, who was also set to be honoured along with Borg, felt it would be “inappropriate” for him to be honoured alone.

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Sunil Yajaman, joint secretary of KSLTA, told BBC Hindi that both of them will be felicitated at the chief minister’s office tomorrow or the day after

Nineteen-year-old Leo lost the match 6-2, 6-3. After Bommai arrived, he spent some time witnessing the action from the VIP section, while Borg sat at the other end, with his wife Patricia. The six-time French Open and five-time Wimbledon champion didn’t change his mind even as Bommai exited the VIP area. Borg later signed his photograph at the KSLTA’s Hall of Fame during a dinner hosted in his honour by Amritraj.