Bhimavaram braces for big time tennis

DD to telecast finals live

Bhimavaram, the bustling coastal town of West Godavari, is all set to host an international tennis tourney for the third time.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures-2 men’s tournament, with a prize money of $10,000, will be held at Cosmopolitan Club and Youth Club courts from March 7 to 14.

Vying for top honours

Speaking to

The Hindu , T. Krishna Babu, secretary of Cosmo Sports Trust, the sports wing of the Cosmopolitan Club, said the edition would see players from Spain, Switzerland, Korea and Italy, along with top Indian players, vying for top honours.

“The number of players from abroad is less compared to the previous editions. Indian players like Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sriram Balaji, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vishnuvardhan will be seen in action this time,” Mr. Babu added. According to him, top-seed Ramkumar will be a player to watch out for, as he has proved his mettle by defeating India’s No. 1 player Somdev Devburman at the Kolkata Open recently.

Mr. Babu said the two synthetic courts at the Cosmopolitan Club were being re-laid for the prestigious event, which is sponsored by Sify Technologies Limited, Hyderabad.

Two hard courts

“We will also be using the two hard courts on the Youth Club premises. The qualifying rounds will be held on March 7 and 8, and the main draw will commence on March 9,” he added.

However, the tourney will miss stars like Sanam Singh and Saketh Myneni, the regulars at Bhimavaram, in action, as they are busy playing the Challenger series.

Mr. Abhijeet Mukherjee will be the chief referee. Doordarshan will telecast the proceedings live on March 13 and 14. Established in 1982, the Cosmopolitan Club was moved to its own premises in 1985, and since then, tennis has been an integral part of the club’s activity.

Players like Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan and Jaideep Mukherjee have wielded racquets with élan here.