Indian under-14 tennis kids to play in Wimbledon NEW DELHI, OCT. 23: Indian boys and girls in the under-14 age group will get a chance to play on grass in Wimbledon next year. Making the announcement about ‘The Road to Wimbledon in India’, at a press conference here on Wednesday, the Tournament Director of the event, the former British Davis Cup captain, Paul Hutchins said that it would be a good opportunity for the Indian kids, as the project was being launched outside United Kingdom for the first time. There will be two National series tournaments, one each in Delhi and Mumbai in January, offering national ranking points as well as points for the Masters event, which will be held in Delhi in April. The top 16 players from the two tournaments will make it to the Masters and the finalists in the boys and girls events, along with two coaches, will travel to Wimbledon and compete in the UK National under-14 championship in August 2014. ‘’We were looking at China and Brazil as well, but decided to start with India. We want to start small’’, said Hutchins, as he expressed his happiness about the cooperation extended by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) for the promotional drive supported by the Wimbledon Foundation. The secretary general of the AITA, Bharat Oza, said that efforts were made to have the tournaments on grass but eventually it was decided to have them on hard courts for the first season, owing to logistical issues. The pilot scheme will also feature coaching clinics, which will be announced in due course of time. Giving a hint of the magnitude of the competition in UK at the under-14 level, Hutchins said that 750 clubs in 44 Counties were vying for the 128 slots in the draw in the UK national under-14 championship, and that room would be made for the two Indian kids each in the boys and girls sections.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 01:32:48 +0000
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