Two ITF junior tennis tournaments will be shifted from Pakistan to India later this year due to “security concerns” in the country, the AITA announced after its AGM here on Saturday.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) decided to give Pakistan the option of holding the tournaments at a neutral venue, and the neighbouring nation chose India, Anil Khanna, president of the All India Tennis Association, said. Khanna added that among the many initiatives which will be undertaken by the AITA is a inter-State men’s and women’s tournament, which has been designed to promote the sport in “developing States”.
To further tap talent in these areas, the AITA will sponsor two children each from Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and States from the North-East region of the country for an extensive coaching programme.
Other announcements:
Hyderabad will make a bid to host the 2015 Federation Cup.
Telangana State Tennis Association brought under the aegis of AITA.
Two current players who have either played Davis Cup, Federation Cup, Asian Games or Olympics will be inducted into the AITA Executive Committee for a period of two years.
Two new men’s Challengers in Pune and Indore.
One new $50,000 women’s Challenger in New Delhi.
Road to Wimbledon campaign (to spot junior talent) extended to five cities, instead of two.
Road to Roland Garros for under-14 boys to be implemented later this year.
List of elected Executive Committee members: Ashok Kumar, H. Chatterjee, A.B. Prasad, V.S. Sisodia, V.K. Batra, Suman Kapur, T.D. Francis, Anil Dhupar, S. Kannamwar, Asit Tripathy, Dinesh Arora, C.P. Kacker.
