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Bid to return Davis Cup tie fails

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Hong Kong's request to bring home the Sars-postponed Davis Cup tie against Lebanon was refused by the International Tennis Federation, which ruled that the second round Asia/Oceania Zone group II tie go ahead in Colombo, Sri Lanka from June 20-22.

'We are going to Sri Lanka. Our bid to get the tie back to Hong Kong failed. It was too late for the ITF to change their decision to play the tie at a neutral venue,' said Jeremy Pong, Hong Kong's Davis Cup team manager.

The Hong Kong Tennis Association approached the ITF after the World Health Organisation lifted the travel advisory ban on Hong Kong last Friday. Lebanon cited the ban and Sars as the reasons for pulling out of the semi-final match in April.

'It is a shame that we cannot play the tie at home now that the travel advisory ban has been lifted,' said Derek Ling, Hong Kong Davis Cup non-playing captain

'But we will do our best in Colombo. We have already sent three of our squad to India to get used to the hot conditions which we can expect.'

Yu Hui-tung, Brian Hung and Lu Ling have left to play a series of Futures events in India. The trio will play in three tournaments in Mumbai, Chandigarh and New Delhi. They will take part in both singles and doubles.

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