Kolkata: The clash of dates of the coming edition of the $175,000 WTA Sunfeast Open and the Durga Puja has thrown the organisers into a tizzy, amidst fears that the tourney may be cold-shouldered by the public revelling in the festivities.

As per the WTA calendar, the fourth edition of the glamorous Open is scheduled to kick off on October six, which also happenes to be Mahasaptami, the opening day of the four-day festival.

"The problem is the dates are clashing with the festival. People will be busy with the Durga Puja. And we have to keep this in mind," Mahaesh Bhupathi, managing director of Globosport, the company organising the tournament, told newspersons here.

Bhupathi was responding to questions whether there was some doubt on staging the tournament this year because of the date problem.

"As of now, the WTA Open is on. But we will be discussing with the people concerned," Bhupathi said. The ace doubles player is likely to hold parleys with West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Urban Development minister Ashok Bhattacharya on the problem.

However, he denied media reports that Globosport was reluctant to hold the tournament in the city and could even shift it as it had faced dearth of sponsors in the third editon of the meet in Septamber last year.

"Such issues are not there. Sponsorship is not a problem," he said.
Source : PTI