AFTER inspection of the courts and evaluation of the tennis facilities available in Nagpur, the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) inspection team led by Secretary Sunder Iyer assured to bid for ITF 25000 tournaments for men and women to be held at Nagpur, informs a Nagpur District Hardcourt Tennis Association (NDHTA) press release. International Tennis Federation (ITF) that organises events for the players with much lower world rankings. Nitin Kannamwar and Leena accompanied Iyer from MSLTA and they had discussions with NDHTA Executive Committee officials. Due to COVID pandemic, there has hardly been any major tournament held in past one and half years, but going forward there are AITA and ITF tournaments being planned. Dr Sudhir Bhiwapurkar, Vijay Naidu, Dr Darshan Dakshindas participated in the discussions with MSLTA inspection team on behalf of NDHTA. All India Tennis Association (AITA) U-14 and U-16 tournaments and Zonal U-14 and U-17 tournaments would be held in coming months. More details would be shared later, the release added. Iyer is the Secretary of MSLTA, the State body responsible for tennis in Maharashtra, and also the Joint Secretary of AITA, the national body for the sport of tennis. He has recently been appointed on the Maharashtra Olympic Committee.

 

He was Manager of the Indian Davis Cup team that went to Finland. Later in the evening, NDHTA felicitated Iyer and Dr Darshan Dakshindas for their achievements in administration and performance in the sport of lawn tennis respectively. Iyer is a young and dynamic leader from Maharashtra who has made his mark at the national level and has been assigned various responsibilities by AITA. He has been instrumental in improving the tennis infrastructure at grassroot level in Maharashtra. Dr Dakshindas has recently won gold medal in the All India Civil Services tennis tournament held in New Delhi recently. NDHTA felicitated these two stalwarts by presenting a scroll of honour at the hands of Kumar Kale, President and Ashok Bhiwapurkar, Vice-President. Speaking on the occasion, Iyer informed that a lot is happening in the sport of tennis and many young players are taking up the sport. Coaches and infrastructure need to be upgraded and MSLTA is investing a lot in this area. Technology is also being introduced to make players more aware of their body and muscle, and fitness is being improved resulting in lesser injuries. Iyer assured all support from MSLTA to bring more tournaments and better sponsorships.

 

Dr Dakshindas, in his acceptance speech, thanked NDHTA and informed that he had practised for two years to participate in the All India tournament. Dr Dakshindas is a senior academic at Government Dental College and Hospital. He assured to give his best to improve the tennis fraternity in Nagpur and has been instrumental in building the new tennis court on GMCH premises. Kale appreciated the efforts of Iyer and Dr Dakshindas and paid compliments to them. Bhiwapurkar also congratulated Iyer and Dr Dakshindas on behalf of NDHTA. Treasurer Vijay Naidu conducted the programme and also extended a vote of thanks.