AITA C’ship Series gets good response

LUCKNOW: Events conducted by the UP Tennis Association in recent times have failed to get recognition from the All-India Tennis Association in terms of points to players, especially girls, as the entries in the category were low.

However, contrary to this, the AITA Championship Series Tennis Tournament for boys and girls under-16 in memory of Shashank Shekhar Singh, beginning May 15 here at the Vijayantkhand Stadium, has so far attracted over 100 entries, including 30 in the girls category.

The event seems to be an important one especially for host players as 25 points to the winners and 20 points to the runners-up in each category on top of the order would be helpful to a player raise his or her ranking in nationals.

“There is a tremendous response to the event and we are hopeful of getting more entries in days to come,” organising secretary Poojita Singh said on Thursday.

“Last time, we conducted the event at the district level for the first time and after seeing the response we chose to conduct the event at the national level,” she added.

Before the main draw of 32 in each category, including 32 in boys doubles, begins on May 15, the qualifying rounds (May 13 and 14) are also expected to see a huge turnout. Eight players in each category would qualify for the main draw.

“We will have the real picture of participants only after the withdrawal date (May 8),” tournament referee Vijay Pathak told HT on Thursday.

All four synthetic courts would be made operational and the event would be a great opportunity for young tennis buffs to learn the basics of the game by watching the ranked players of India in action, he said

THE EVENT SEEMS TO BE AN IMPORTANT ONE ESPECIALLY FOR HOST PLAYERS AS 25 POINTS TO THE WINNERS AND 20 POINTS TO THE RUNNERSUP IN EACH CATEGORY ON TOP OF THE ORDER WOULD BE HELPFUL TO A PLAYER RAISE HIS OR HER RANKING IN NATIONALS