Guwahati, April 23: International junior tennis player from Assam, Priyana Kalita, has been awarded a sports scholarship (tennis) for a four-year undergraduate (bachelors) programme by Miami University at Ohio, Oxford, in the US for her achievement in various junior international tournaments in 2016-17 as well as for her academic excellence from class VIII to XI.

During the programme, Priyana will be entitled to a stipend of Rs 1.35 crore as academic scholarship to complete her bachelors degree in sports leadership and management.

She will also be sponsored by Adidas to play tennis for the Miami University Redhawk women's team. She will leave for the US in mid-August.

Priyana started playing tennis at North East Tennis Foundation here in 2007. For the past eight years, Priyana has been training under Shiv Kumar Prajapati of NETF. She has also been training in Delhi at the Team Tennis Academies at Sirifort Sports Complex under Aditya Sachdeva.

Holy Home Senior Secondary School here, where Priyana studied from 2001 to 2015, has been supporting her education and sports till date. At present, Priyana is pursuing her higher secondary under National Institute of Open Schooling.

Priyana has won 26 national-level titles, 18 state titles and recently achieved an international junior rank of 490 among over 2,000 players in the international junior circuit. She was the Asian junior (under-14) doubles runner-up in 2011. She was also a medallist in the 59th National School Games in 2014.

Priyana became the first local girl to win an All India Super Series Tennis Tournament held here in 2014.