Indian celebrities, especially politicians, are notorious for their non-punctuality. While we are accustomed to these delays, the westerners aren't obliged to do so. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai experienced it first hand when Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg politely declined a felicitation for himself from the former as the event ran one and half hours behind the schedule.
The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association had organised a function to felicitate the 11-time Grand Slam winner and former Indian star Vijay Amritraj, but it remained non-starter due to the late arrival of Bommai here on Tuesday.
Borg, who quit the game at the peak of his career aged 27, is in the city accompanying his son Leo, who has a wildcard entry for the main draw of the ongoing Bengaluru Open at KSLTA.
The programme, first scheduled at 9.30 am, was postponed in the last minute to 10.15 am to accommodate Bommai who was running late.
With Leo taking to the court at 11.00 am for his first-round match, and no sight of Bommai yet, Borg, who was seated at the stands to watch his son play, decided to give the ceremony a miss.
Bommai who finally arrived at around 11.15 am, well after a few games between Leo and his opponent Yu Hsiou Hsu were completed, had no other choice but to watch a few points himself for 15-20 minutes before leaving the venue.
“The Chief Minister was delayed due to some of his other commitments,” said an official from the organising committee. “We did inform him (CM) that Borg would be watching his son play and would not be able to be present for the felicitation. But CM was very sportive about the whole situation and decided to still come to the courts and watch some action.”