Bengal Tennis Association, housed in the Salt Lake stadium complex, witnessed budding tennis players fight it out in the court. The event — CISCE inter-school tennis tournament — was hosted by St. Francis Xavier School and spanned five days.
The tournament was divided into group and individual events. After an extremely competitive tournament, La Martiniere for Boys (LMB) secured the third position in the under-14 (boys) category and the first position in under-19 boys. Students from the same school also won silver and bronze medals in individual events.
Arjun Ray, a Class XII student from LMB and the captain of their under-19 team, was ecstatic. “Even though it was at short notice, I managed to put together a great team. It was lovely to be accepting awards after two long years of waiting for this tournament. Preparation was tough since it was in the midst of monsoon and we hardly got any practice, but our commitment to the team and our hunger to win kept the team going,” he said.
Shounak Chatterjee, a Class IX student of DPS Megacity, was the runner-up in the under-17 boys category. He was in fact making a comeback after a wrist injury. “I was skeptical about whether I could play my shots properly,” said the boy who was full of praise for his victorious rival, Mayand Tewari of St Xavier’s Collegiate School. “Mayand kept his cool till the end and that made him the winner. I lost some crucial points in the deciding tiebreaker which I was initially leading 4-2. I needed three more points and played some shots in haste.”
In the under-19 girls category, Kinza Shaikh, Class XI student from Loreto Day School, bagged the trophy. “This is the first time I played an inter-school tennis tournament and am glad I could make my school proud. My coaches and parents have been motivating me so I feel the confidence that many players lack during the matches,” she said.
Harsh Chitlangia, a Class XII student of St. Xaviers, stole the show with his remarkable victory in the individual under-19 boys final. He defeated the La Martiniere for Boys captain, Arjun. “I have been playing tennis regularly for 10 years but had to stop two months ago due to some reasons. But when I got to know about this tournament, I resumed practice as it was always my dream to represent my school and win a tennis tournament,” smiled Harsh.
Former tennis ace Jaidip Mukerjea graced the closing ceremony and motivated students. “Bengal has produced numerous renowned tennis players and we should strive to keep this tradition alive,” he said.
Shounak Chatterjee with his under-17 runners-up trophy
The tournament was refereed by Bengal Tennis Association referee Geetika Paul, who is also the city’s first female official to have refereed at the international level. “As a national referee, I enjoy every assignment. Sometimes we need to be strict and sometimes we need to be gentle. But I often notice that certain parents get involved in the matches and I feel this shouldn’t be the case. This tournament has gone pretty smoothly and I look forward to refereeing many more such events,” she said.
Assistant teacher of the host school, Nikhil Biswas, supervised the inter-school tournament and shared the motive behind organising it. “This event is organised by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations to promote tennis among students of affiliated institutes. They want to prepare a team to participate in the School Games Federation of India," he said.