Consistent with the approach of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s vision that the “World comes to play in the State of Odisha”, the State administration is gearing up to organise yet another international tournament at the Kalinga Stadium here.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) would organise Men’s Professional Tournament here during second week of February next. State Home Additional Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy, who is an ace tennis player himself and the Odisha Tennis Association (OTA) president, is taking the lead in this regard with the ITF’s active support.
State Sports and Youth Affairs Secretary Vishal Dev, who has taken sports activities to a high level and has been successful in organising several world-class sports events in the State, would extend full support to the tennis tournament.
Performance of ITF future tournaments enables meritorious players to reach higher level in the Associations of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour. The upcoming tournament would attract ranking players from India and abroad, said Tripathy.
The tournament would be held for the first time in Odisha. The tennis courts would be made ready much ahead of the international tournament, said an official.