National champions gather to celebrate Fenesta tennis

It was a galaxy of national champions from the past who assembled to celebrate the association of the DCM Shriram Group in building Indian tennis by hosting a premier event for over 25 years.

Quite appropriately, the Olympic silver medallist and former Union Sports Minister, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was on hand to felicitate the 15 national champions who had won the men’s, women’s and junior titles in the past.

The Chairman and Managing Director of the DCM Shriram Group, Ajay Shriram, who had started the event to provide a high quality tournament for the Indian players, praised the champions for their commitment and passion. He said that it gave the organisation great satisfaction to cater to Indian tennis so well for so many years, even as the tournament changed from Shriram Open to Fenesta Open, and also gained the status of the National championship.

Congratulating the DCM Shriram group for providing a fine platform for Indian tennis to flourish over the years, Col. Rathore, said that there was always a team behind the success of champions even in an individual game.

‘’It is always a collaborative effort, a team effort. To support a game for 25 years. It is fabulous. We need such platforms for Indian sports in all games’’, said Rathore.

He also praised the facility at the DLTA and said that every time he flew over the place, he looked down upon the tennis complex with pride, and wished that the place would see many more champions emerge in the future.

Vishaal Uppal, Nitten Kirrtane, Archana Venkataraman, Sai Jayalakshmy, Rushmi Chakravarthi, Isha Lakhani, Ashutosh Singh, VM Ranjeet, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Prerna Bhambri, Mohit Mayur, Vishnu Vardhan, Sriram Balaji and Dalwinder Singh were thrilled to be felicitated by Col. Rathore and Ajay Shriram with a special trophy made for the occasion.

Ankita Bhambri’s husband and Sanaa Bhambri’s mother collected the trophies on behalf of the champions who could not be present.

The champions thanked the organisers for hosting the best tournament in the country, consistently over the years, and hoped that the event would produce more champion players for the country.

Vishnu Vardhan recalled how he used to look forward to receiving the special t-shirt for playing the event, and mentioned how Nitten Kirrtane made it a point to wear that for many finals.

It was an emotional evening for the champions, and Col. Rathore inspired them with his energetic words.

(Courtesy: The Hindu)