Hyderabad, Dec 14: Defending champions in men's section Maharashtra and title holders in women's Tamil Nadu have a tough battle on their hands to retain their crowns in the tennis event of the 32nd National Games which gets underway here tomorrow.
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the eight states selected as per AITA rankings to vie for the seven gold medals on offer in the week-long competition, which promises to be an absorbing affair on the newly laid synthetic surface at the SAAP Tennis Complex.
Maharashtra, who prevailed over Tamil Nadu in the men's final of the last edition of the games at Punjab, are without Mustafa Ghouse and Harsh Mankad, but still have a strong side comprising current National Grass Court champion Nitin Kirtane, Sandip Kirtane, Ajay Ramaswamy and Kedar Tembe.
"We are hoping to repeat our title triumph, but the battle will be tough with states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh having formidable line-ups," Maharashtra coach Nandan Bal told reporters.

Andhra Pradesh, playing on home turf with players like Vasudeva Reddy, Punna Vishal, Punna Vikash and Anjan Viplab in their ranks, look capable of improving upon their bronze-medal winning performance in Punjab, while Tamil Nadu would be keen on avenging their defeat in last year's final.


Bureau Report