Silchar to host World Tennis Masters and junior ranking meet

Silchar will host two tennis tournaments in mid-November, beginning with a World Tennis Masters MT200 event from November 10 to 15 and an All-Assam Junior Ranking Tennis Tournament from November 16 to 19, The Assam Tribune reported on Sunday.

Both competitions will be organised by The Tennis Club, Silchar, at its own courts. Together they are expected to draw more than 200 players, mixing veteran competitors from India and abroad with juniors from clubs across Assam.

Masters draw and overseas entries

The Masters tournament will run men's, women's and mixed doubles in the 30+, 35+, 40+, 45+ and 50+ age groups from November 10 to 14. Men's singles in the 55+, 60+, 65+ and 70+ groups are scheduled from November 12 to 15.

Arup Kumar Deb, a member of the club and convener of the junior event, said 128 official singles entries and 145 doubles entries had already come in through the World Masters Tennis portal, besides three wild-card places in each category.

Players from different parts of India are expected, along with overseas entries from Bhutan, South Korea and Bangladesh. Participation from Bhutan and South Korea has been confirmed; players from Bangladesh are still waiting for visa clearance, Deb said.

The Masters event has a prize purse of Rs 5 lakh. Dunlop AO will be the official ball. Shibashis Dutta Gupta is the tournament director, and Lavleena Raizada of Gwalior will be the chief referee.

Junior ranking tournament next

Once the Masters finishes, the same club will run the All-Assam Junior Ranking Tennis Tournament from November 16 to 19. Boys' and girls' singles will be held in the under-10, under-12, under-14 and under-18 groups. Doubles will be limited to the under-18 group.

Deb said more than 50 young players from districts and tennis clubs across Assam are expected, up from just over 40 in the previous edition. The junior prize purse is Rs 50,000 and may be raised if more entries come in. Dunlop AO will again be the official ball. Deb will serve as tournament director, with Arnab Dutta as chief referee.

Club president Mahavir Prasad Jain and general secretary Debashish Swami said the back-to-back events should give local players in southern Assam a chance to compete against experienced national and international opponents, and give juniors more match practice.

Deb said the two tournaments would also help promote tennis in the Barak Valley and encourage younger players to aim for state and national competition. The first matches of the Masters event are due to begin on November 10.