Four Indian juniors taking part in tourney at Wimbledon
Two boys and as many Indian girls today qualified for the 13th HSBC Road to Wimbledon National Finals which would see 148 junior players competing on the famous lawns of the All England Club.
|Last Updated: Aug 11, 2014, 10:20 PM IST|Source: PTI
Mumbai: Two boys and as many Indian girls on Monday qualified for the 13th HSBC Road to Wimbledon National Finals which would see 148 junior players competing on the famous lawns of the All England Club.
Adil Kalyanpur from Bangalore and runner-up Siddhant Banthia from Pune battled it out in the boys` final whilst Shivani S Ingle from Pune defeated Aarja Chakraborty from Noida in the girls` draw and all four players have travelled over to England for this week`s competition, said a release here today.
This year also marks the first time in the tournament`s history where players from outside the UK had the opportunity to qualify, with the four Indian juniors making the main draw.
Earlier this year, former British number one Tim Henman and Dan Bloxham, Head Coach at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, joined the players in India to spearhead the new initiative aiming to boost the development of junior tennis in the country.
The move comes after the Wimbledon Foundation, the community, charitable and development arm of the All England Club, and HSBC teamed up with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to bring The Road to Wimbledon to India.
The competition was designed to give Indian players aged 14 and under the opportunity to improve their game and win the opportunity to come to London to compete at Wimbledon alongside the best junior players in the UK.
Henman joined the junior players at the All England Club today and, having kick-started his career in India in 1994, he was particularly supportive of extending the tournament to include winners from India.
"The HSBC Road To Wimbledon 14 and Under National Challenge is the UK`s largest national junior grass court tournament and continues to get better and better each year. Thousands of young players take part and it`s fantastic to see the high level of talent on show on these famous courts.
"As an ambassador to the initiative, it is even more encouraging to see the programme expanding and this year we have some special young talent come over from India. It will be a wonderful experience for them and should be another step in the nurturing of talent both here in the UK and abroad," Henman said.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.