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

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I`ve a few names in mind for Australia coach`s post: Watson

Chennai: Dashing opener Shane Watson has a few candidates in mind for the vacant Australia coach`s post even as the nation`s Cricket Board (CA) is desperately searching for a suitable candidate for the job following Tim Nielsen`s sudden resignation.

CA is scrambling to find a replacement for Nielsen before Australia leave for South Africa tour in less than three weeks time.

Senior batsman Watson, however, said that he knows a few people who can take up the challenge but refrained from disclosing their names.

"I got a few people in mind who I think will do a brilliant job and have got exactly what the team needs but I am not going to single out any individual because I`ll get myself in trouble," he said.

"I can`t really say exact names but there`s no doubt that there is a big opportunity in Australian cricket at the moment...it is an exciting phase.

"Obviously, we haven`t had the greatest couple of years, especially in Test cricket but if we get the perfect person for the job, we can turnaround things," added Watson, who is here to play in the Champions League Twenty20.

The Australia vice-captain, who will represent NSW against Cape Cobras in the Twenty20 event tomorrow, said although he didn`t have a successful Test series in Sri Lanka recently, especially with the bat, it would have little bearing on his performance in this tournament.

"I`ve played a lot in the subcontinent, especially in India and had quite a bit of success here. I`ve played in Chennai as well and (had) some good performances here," Watson insisted.

"This is my first T20 game for NSW and I am excited. I`ve watched the Champions League for the last few years. Hopefully, we can have a very successful campaign."

The all-rounder was also confident that NSW, who has fielded a relatively young and inexperienced team in the tournament, would do a great job in the event.

"We`re very lucky to have a lot of young talents coming through as well as some experienced guys like Stuart Clarke, Simon Katich and myself. I think its a brilliant mix," Watson said.

"NSW continue to produce outstanding young players and some of these young guys like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Phil Hughes and David Warner are very, very talented," he added.

PTI

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