Former national coach Balram Singh will head the selection panel for the All India Tennis Association (AITA) Trust, which will venture to identify 16 players in the under-14 age group for a scholarship of ₹100,000 each per year, starting with a camp at the DLTA Complex on Friday.
The week-long camp will have 32 players from 15 State units. Vishaal Uppal and Ankita Bhambri will be the other members of the selection committee. The players will be assessed not only for their tennis skills but also for physical fitness and overall potential.
The scholarship amount will be given to the players in three instalments. The first instalment of ₹50,000 will be given to each of the 16 selected players, immediately after the camp.
Monitored
The players will be monitored through the year and they will have to present accounts for the amount paid to them.
The AITA Trust has also invested ₹60 lakh in the Tennis Vision Fund, and expects corporates and private companies to contribute to the fund. The Vision fund will be utilised to help players compete at home and abroad, apart from sourcing tennis equipment.
There will also be a team of three boys and three girls from among the 16 identified talent, who would be supported for tournaments at home and abroad.
Strengthening tennis
The fund will be used to strengthen tennis in schools apart from development of tennis infrastructure in small towns and under-developed tennis regions in the country.
Overall, the Trust aims to support grassroots schemes, fostering talent and infrastructure development.
The first camp is scheduled to be held at the DLTA Complex from July 19 to 24.
The players nominated for the camp:
Boys: Manan Nath, Yuvan Nandal, Aayush Bhat, Shreyas Krishnakumar, Manas Dhamne, Nitish Balaji, Arunava Mazumdar, Navya Verma, Samprit Sharma, Harsh Fogaat, Omaansh Choudhary, Ayushman Arjeria, Madhav Sharma, Hamza Mehmood, Devaharshith Neelam, Rushil Khosla.
Girls: Tanishq Patar, Shruti Ahlawat, Suhitha Maruri, Shrijana Thapa, Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari, Kundana Sri Bandaru, Sweta Samanta, Suryanshi Tanwar, Samriddhi Singh, Riya Sachdeva, Samiksha Dabas, Amisha Shukla Monile, Anahat Pannu, Praanya Slathia, Veda Raju Prapurna, Hannah Nagpal.
