Airtel to sponsor Tennis championships
Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) auditorium.
Airtel will begin their three year support by sponsoring the Junior Tennis Nationals which got underway on August 11. This will be followed with the sponsorship of the 97th Tennis National Championship which is scheduled be held from August 18 to 26 at the SLTA tennis courts in Greenpath, Colombo.
Leading global telecommunications operators Bharati Airtel has come forward to sponsor tennis for the next three years. This was announced by Suren Goonawardena, CEO of Bharati Airtel at a media briefing held at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) auditorium.
Airtel will begin their three year support by sponsoring the Junior Tennis Nationals which got underway on August 11. This will be followed with the sponsorship of the 97th Tennis National Championship which is scheduled to be held from August 18 to 26 at the SLTA tennis courts in Greenpath, Colombo.
The Junior Tennis National championship which got underway on August 11 is slotted to end on August 17. This will also be the second major local tennis tournament being undertaken by Airtel having sponsored the Colombo Championship last month.
The completion of the Junior Tennis Nationals will fol-
The Junior Tennis National championship which got underway on August 11 is slotted to end on August 17
low with the 97th Tennis Nationals and the Wheelchair Tennis Championship will be conducted concurrently from August 18.Iqbal Bin Issack, President of the SLTA briefing the media stated. “This time out we have received a record number of over 500 entries for the Junior National Championship.
“We are expecting the participation of some foreign players at the 97th Tennis National most probably from India and Pakistan.” He however went on to say that Sri Lanka’s number one Harsha Godammane will not be participating due to his academic involvement in the USA.
Speaking further he stated the decision by Airtel to support a second major event is obviously good news for Sri Lanka tennis and incidentally the nationals is the country’s most prestigious tennis tournament. It will no doubt add value and he thanked Airtel for their commitment in supporting the sport for the next three years.
Suren Goonawardena, CEO of Bharati Airtel emphasised that they are proud to be involved with the sponsorship of tennis. He added that tennis is a sport that requires the much needed support and that they are happy to be involved in taking this sport to greater heights in the future.
Apart from this Airtel have been involved in sponsoring some of the school and club rugby teams and also sponsored the recently concluded Western Province Schools rugby tournament. Airtel’s aim is to commit themselves to be a stakeholder in developing local sports talent, thus fostering to support them to reach international standards.
The Junior Tennis Nationals will see youngsters from the age groups of Under 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 in both the boys and girls categories vying for honours.
The events to be worked off in the 97th National Tennis Championships are: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Men’s over 35 Singles and Doubles, Men’s over 45 Singles and Doubles, Men’s over 55 Singles and Doubles and Men’s over 65 Singles and Doubles.
There will be two events in the Wheelchair tournament which are the singles and doubles. The organisers are expecting over 150 entries for the senior nationals. Defending singles champion Dineshkanthan Thangarajah and Shankari Thayakarn are fancied to be the top seeds in the men’s and women’s categories.