U-16 AITA Super Series tennis tournament begins

Berhampur: The Under-16 All India Tennis Association (AITA) Super Series tennis tournament for boys and girls began at Union Club tennis arena and District Police Office (DPO) tennis court simultaneously here on Monday. IG of Police Southern Range Sarthak Sarangi accompanied by Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M and Ganjam SP Subhendu Kumar Patra declared the tournament open amidst loud applause.

The top cops, who attended the inaugural function as guests, appealed to the young players to play the game in good sportsman spirit and thanked the parents of the players who thronged from different States for their positive attitude in enriching the professional aspirations of their young children.

The tournament, from February 3 to 6, is expected to showcase budding tennis talent from all over the country as top seeds are competing.

Fourteen-year-old tennis player Aahaan Mishra from Odisha, currently ranked 15th in AITA Boys Under-16 and ranked 3rd in Under-14 Tennis, is the star attraction. Studying in Class IX in Sai International School, Bhubaneswar and trained by coaches Santosh Kumar Mallick and Chinmayee Pradhan of Gurukul Tennis Academy, Aahaan Mishra is optimistic about improving his all-India ranking here. “I am in the top seed and having a good chance and looking forward to being in the top again”, he said. However, Aahaan Mishra considers Alimeer Fazal of Tamil Nadu, also his doubles match partner, as the top contender.

Fourteen-year-old Aahan in the Girls category also is another star attraction. She is also from Bhubaneswar and at present ranked No. 1 in Under-14 and 7th in Under-16 categories. She represented India in March 2024 Grand Slam in Europe and also in Malaysia. She is studying in Class VIII in ODM Global School, Bhubaneswar and is being trained by professionals. Aahan sees no opponent and hopes to maintain her all-India ranking.

The AITA player ranking system is designed to provide a fair and transparent method of evaluating the performance of tennis players across India.

It helps in identifying top talent, encouraging competitive play and providing opportunities for players to progress to higher levels of competition. The AITA ranking system is based on a points structure. Players earn points by participating in various AITA-sanctioned tournaments.

Thirty-three players, including 17 girls and 16 boys, are participating in the tournament. While 10 boys and 6 girls from Odisha are taking part in this tournament, five boys and girls each from West Bengal, one each from Tamil Nadu, 4 girls from Andhra Pradesh and 1 girl from Telangana are participating. No boys from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are taking part, official sources said.

A total of 32 single and 30 doubles matches will be played in Union Club tennis arena and District Police Office (DPO) tennis court, according to Jatin Batsya, who is conducting the matches along with AITA Tournament Referee Debapriyo Das.