Thiruvananthapuram, June 24: A key underlying principle of ayurveda discourages the suppression of involuntary physiological urges.

So it was in the Kerala capital today: the government did not hold back its urge and announced that the state cabinet has given the go-ahead to the state tourism department's plan to get Steffi Graf to promote ayurveda.

An impression soon gathered ground that the deal had been sealed and the lady famed not so long ago for the most lethal forehand of them all would be the brand ambassador for the traditional system of medicine. Its massages are also popular.

"The proposal had come from the tourism department and a formal agreement would be reached with Steffi Graf soon," chief minister Oommen Chandy told reporters.

Translated, it means: the state is more than willin', now the ball is in Graf's court.

Chandy said the tourism department had been working on getting the former women's world No. 1 to be the "brand ambassador" for Kerala Ayurveda, the name the state has used to market this school of medicine.

Tourism director P.I. Sheik Pareeth, too, confirmed that the department has been in touch with Graf's managers.

"The department had been liaising with Graf's managers through telephone and emails for nearly two to three months now," he said, adding that the German tennis legend, too, had "expressed her interest".

So what prompted them to approach Graf, a winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles who retired in 1999?

Neymar, apparently.

"During the last soccer World Cup, the state had received an enquiry whether the Brazilian forward Neymar, who had injured his spine during a match, could be treated using ayurveda." Pareeth told The Telegraph.

"Although it did not materialise, we too thought about engaging a sportsperson to tell the world how ayurveda can be beneficial in treating sports-related injuries, besides helping maintain a healthy lifestyle. Graf's name was suggested and we pursued it with her managers."

Graf, married to Andre Agassi, "is fond" of ayurveda, Pareeth added.

Pareeth is clear on the next step. "We were waiting for the cabinet's approval," he said. "Now that the approval is here, we will hold further discussions with her and finalise the terms, including the costs, in a month's time."

Sources said the idea was not exactly to have a brand ambassador as that would be too expensive, but to get the celebrity to endorse the ancient science to give it a boost.

Dependence on foreign endorsement need not be a bad idea. Although blessed with breathtaking sights and beaches, tourism really took off in Kerala only from 2000 - when the National Geographic Traveller listed the state as one of the 50 must-see destinations of a lifetime.

Of the 9.2 lakh foreign tourists who visited Kerala in 2014, the maximum were from the UK (1.5 lakh), followed by France (90,933), the US (77,616) and Germany (75,698). "A large chunk of these travellers are those who come in search of authentic ayurveda, which is the speciality of Kerala," Pareeth said.

Game and set?

Over to "Fräulein Forehand" to seal the match.