Pune: In a surprise development, veteran administrator Anil Khanna will attend the Extraordinary General Meeting of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) in New Delhi on July 26 as one of the two nominees of the Bihar state body.Sunday’s EGM is a crucial milestone for AITA which is undergoing a Court-mandated compliance process to align its constitution in line with the National Sports Act, 2026.The agenda of the EGM is to ratify the amended constitution prepared by the Delhi High Court-appointed Administrator, Justice (Retd) Gita Mittal, after consultation with the state associations.“What is the big deal about me attending the meeting? I just want to say hello to some of my old friends,” Khanna told The Times of India, as he sought to make light of his return to board politics after a three-year sabbatical.Khanna’s nomination has raised eyebrows since, after a lengthy stint at the helm of Indian tennis in various capacities as well as being a vice president of the world body ITF, he stepped down as a vice-president of AITA in 2023.It also assumes significance as the Administrator has called for financial records of the national federation as well as the AITA Trust, which was set up in 2000 — when Khanna’s father Raj Kumar Khanna was the AITA president — for the purpose of building the stadium in the DLTA Complex.The Trust’s membership and financial details have remained shrouded in secrecy, so much so that even AITA members remain in the dark about it.Khanna, 73, is believed to have been a member of the AITA Trust since its establishment and continues to be a part of it.
