*Thrilling ‘Decathlon Chillai-Kalan Tennis Carnival’ ends
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 24: Played with immense participation amid the bone-chilling cold of Chillai-Kalan, the thrilling two-day ‘Decathlon Chillai-Kalan Tennis Carnival-2023’ concluded at Gindun Stadium, Rajbagh, here today.
On Day-2, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final was played, with the closing ceremony attended by the Secretary of Youth Services and Sports (YSS), Sarmad Hafeez, as the chief guest.
Manager of Gindun Stadium, Mohammad Iqbal and Patron of Kashmir Tennis Academy and renowned Urologist Dr Muneer Khan, were the guests of honour on the occasion.
In the final of the tournament, Jayakumar and his partner, Vikrant, defeated Sajjad Khaliq and his partner Rauf Ahmad with scores of 6-0 and 6-0. Rauf and Sajjad played well but were completely overawed by Jayakumar and his partner by their brilliant skills. Jayakumar played excellent backhand and forehand winners leaving Sajjad and Rauf awestruck. In the end it was a cakewalk for Jaya’s team.
Earlier in the semis, Jayakumar and his partner Vikrant beat Inayat Jehangir and his partner Dilbagh Singh, while Sajjad Khaliq and Rauf Ahmad beat Gurmeet Singh and his partner Irfan Bhat.
Inayat Jehangir and his partner Dilbagh Singh played excellent tennis throughout the tournament but couldn’t handle Jaykumar who is one of the best players in the country.
During the award ceremony, Sarmad Hafeez lauded the organizers for holding such an event and emphasized that the Government will do everything to improve the facilities available to the players.
“It is Chillai-Kalan, and you people are here playing tennis, which shows how popular the game has become. It is a great initiative taken by the organizers. We never used to have a tennis court here, but now we have the facility available for the players,” he said.
He mentioned that more needs to be done while expressing his intention to sit together with the organizers aiming to make further improvements in the available facilities.
“The game is becoming popular. We have another tennis court at the Polo Ground, and we will see to it that the facility is made fully functional.”
While congratulating the Kashmir Tennis Academy for organizing the tennis carnival, he said that such platforms will give an opportunity to the youngsters to get more involved in the game and emerge as more skilful.
“We will also hold some camps here soon and try to get some of the best coaches in tennis from across the country to teach the nuances of the game,” Sarmad informed.
On day-2 as well, Excelsior-the media partner of the event-ensured effective coverage of the carnival, attracting substantial response from the audience on social media platforms.
The Carnival was organized by the Kashmir Tennis Academy in association with J&K Sports Council and Decathlon.
Dr. Muneer Ahmad Khan, Patron, Kashmir Tennis Academy, expressed gratitude to Secretary YSS for attending the closing ceremony and boosting the morale of the participants.
“The game has been a neglected one so far, but now we have three coaches from the Government, and with that, more youngsters are coming forward, embracing the game,” he said.
Faheem Farooq from ‘Decathlon’, who was also present during the closing ceremony, said that they are looking forward to coming out with the necessary support for the game in the future as well.
“We are now trying to move beyond games like Cricket and Football and focus on supporting games that need to hold the ground, such as tennis,” he said.
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