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Guwahati, April 29: Assam’s promising tennis player Kaushik Das and Tripura lad Somdev Debbarman have been selected among the first batch of 21 tennis prodigies from across the country to receive training at the newly set-up National Tennis Academy (NTA) located along the Gurgaon-Pataudi highway.
Among the top guns shortlisted along with Das and national under-18 number two Debbarman for a stint at the All-India Tennis Association (AITA)’s academy are Karan Rastogi, Rupesh Roy, Isha Lakhani Sanaa Bhambri and Megha Vakharia.
Das is placed at number four in the under-14 AITA ranking and has represented India at Asian meets. Debbarman has won both the singles and doubles crowns in the recently-concluded International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures and represented India in the Australian Open in January.
A product of the erstwhile Britannia Amritraj Tennis Centre in Chennai, Debbarman represents Tamil Nadu in the national circuit though he hails from Tripura.
Das has celebrated his selection by winning the under-14 title in the recently-concluded AITA super series championship at the Academy courts. Das defeated N. Kannak of Andhra Pradesh 7-6, 6-2 in the final.
The AITA has developed the NTA, which was opened early this week, on the lines of American academies where the players will be provided with schooling as well as sponsorship facilities under the same roof. The trainees are likely to be accommodated at Delhi Public School and Blue Bells School for their education.
The academy comprises 13 clay courts where the second leg of the AITA super series junior meet is under way. The academy has hostel accommodation for 72 trainees and 12 reserved for special purposes.
The AITA also has plans to accommodate players from the neighbouring countries for short-term camps.
Selected Trainees
Boys: Somdev Debbarman, Karan Rastogi, Kaushik Das, Rupesh Roy, Sanam K. Singh, Sumit Prakash Gupta, Divij Sharan, Chatwinder Singh, Arnav Jain, Agnel Gladwin and Chandan Shaolin. Girls: Isha Lakhani, Megha Vakharia, G.K. Shwetha, E. Ashmita, Daksha Mulay, V. Poojashree, Ankita Bhambri, Sanaa Bhambri, Kartiki Bhat and Sandhya Nagraj.
Basketball camp
The Assam Basketball Association has shortlisted 15 probables each to represent Assam in the sub-junior national basketball championship to begin at Nagoan’s Nurul Amin stadium on May 16. The cagers will head for Nagaon on Thursday for the second phase of the conditioning camp. The teams will be finalised during the camp.
The probables: (boys) Ajay Sarma, Shiva Sarma, Shamimur Rahman, Badan Dey, Nayanmoni Das, Mukunda Bora, Abu Ajal Rashid, Kanmoni Lahkar, Mahesh Ram, Badrul Ali, Dipankar Das, Satyajit Roy, Pradip Rajak, Nasimuddin Ahmed and Amal Narzary. Coach — Muzahid Ahmed Saikia.
Girls: Smitali Saikia, Julie Philips, Anita Tirkey, Banita Das, Dipsikha Dutta, Pranita Bora, Ritumoni Begum, Afshala, Sarita Chetry, Mousumi Das, Farida Hazarika, Mamon Boro, Sultana Afiya Ahmed and Archana Bordoloi. Coach — Nirmal Sarkar.