RT Narayan tourney kicks off on Feb 15

The second edition of the AITA National series tennis tournament for the RT Narayan Memorial Rolling Trophy will be held at the KSLTA Stadium here from February 15 to 20.

Actor and former Member of Parliament from Mandya, Ramya, who is RT Narayan’s daughter, launched the under-16 tournament, which is being conducted by the KSLTA and the RT Narayan Memorial Trust.

“Tennis is an expensive sport. So, it is all the more important that we come forward and help these kids pursue their passion,” said Ramya.

“I hope this tournament will perpetuate the memory of my father, who was extremely passionate about the game and worked tirelessly for its development in the State,” she added.

Highlighting the significance of holding such tournaments, CS Sunder Raju, secretary of KSLTA said: “We believe that the under-16 is the most important age of transition because at the end of the day the transition period takes a long time.”

The tournament is set to witness participation from top juniors. Karnataka’s challenge in the boys’category will be spearheaded by Abhimanyu Vannem Reddy, who is fifth in the AITA rankings.

Arjun Mariyappa (62), Kavan Somu Kumar (79) and Manish G (200) will be the other top ranked players from the State.

Prathiba Prasad Narayan (26), Pragathi Prasad Narayan (78) and Naisha Srivastav (155) will be the prominent names representing Karnataka in the girls’event.

Qualifying rounds will be played on February 13 and 14.  The main draw begins on February 15. Winners and runners-up of the competition will be given cash awards of Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.

On the occasion, Ramya also presented a cheque of Rs one lakh to National junior champion BR Nikshep in appreciation of his achievements. However in his absence, his father Ravi Kumar collected the cheque on his behalf.