Wild card entrants` names for National Tennis C`ship announced

New Delhi: The names of the wild card entrants in the men`s and boy`s U-18 category for the main draw of the 17th National Tennis Championship, to be held from October 10 to 22, were declared.

Four players in each of the men`s and boys` Under-18 categories have got wild cards. The wild card entrants -- Vinod Gowda, Mohit Mayur, Sunil Sipaeya and Saurabh Singh -- are expected to give tough competition to the likes of Vishnu Vardhan, Yuki Bhambri, N Vijay Sunder Prashanth, V M Ranjeet, PC Vignesh in the men`s section in the tournament. While the women`s category will see Prerna Bhambri and Rushmi Chakravarthy leading the campaign. The competition in the boys U-18 category is also going to intensify with the addition of four wild card entrants -- Shaikh Abdullah, Aditya Sharma, R Ramakrishna and Rahul Singh. This year the prize money for the winner and runner-up has been increased in both the men and women categories. While the men`s champion will bag Rs 1.50 lakh, the winner in the ladies section will pocket Rs 1 lakh. This is the highest prize money in the domestic circuit. Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza will grace the occasion as the chief guest on the final day of the event. Over the years, this tournament has seen some of India`s most prominent names in the tennis circuit – Somdev Devvarman, Rohan Bopanna, Karan Rastogi, Prahlad Shrinath, Syed Fazaluddin, Vinod Shridhar, Vishal Uppal, Vijay Kanan, Asif Ismail, Amanjot Singh, Nitin Kirtane, Sai Jayalakshmi, Sonal Phadke, Radhika Tulpule, Lisa Pereira, Isha Lakhani and Ankita and Sanaa Bhambri -- take to the courts at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA). Wild Card entrants -- Men: Vinod Gowda (KA), Mohit Mayur (TN), Sunil Sipaeya (CHD), Saurabh Singh (DL). Boys U-18: Shaikh Abdullah (HYD), Aditya Sharma (DL), R Ramakrishna (TN), Rahul Singh (DL). PTI