Silchar |  Silchar is preparing to host two consecutive tennis tournaments, bringing veteran international players and emerging young talents to the Barak Valley. More than 200 players are expected to participate in the World Tennis Masters MT200 Silchar Tournament, scheduled from November 10 to 15, and the All-Assam Junior Ranking Tennis Tournament, which will run from November 16 to 19.

The two events, organised by The Tennis Club, Silchar, are expected to attract participants from different parts of India and abroad, providing a major platform for promoting competitive tennis in southern Assam.

“The two tournaments would provide an important platform for promoting tennis in the Barak Valley and encouraging young talents to compete at the state and national levels,” said Arup Kumar Deb, a member of The Tennis Club, Silchar, and convener of the All-Assam Junior Ranking Tennis Tournament.

The World Tennis Masters MT200 will feature competitions across several age groups. Men’s, women’s and mixed doubles events in the 30+, 35+, 40+, 45+ and 50+ categories will be held from November 10 to 14. Men’s singles competitions in the 55+, 60+, 65+ and 70+ categories are scheduled from November 12 to 15.

According to Deb, the tournament has already received 128 official singles entries and 145 doubles entries through the World Masters Tennis portal, besides three wild-card entries in each category. Players from across India are expected to participate, alongside international competitors from Bhutan, South Korea and Bangladesh. Participation from Bhutan and South Korea has been confirmed, while entries from Bangladesh are awaiting visa clearance.

The Masters tournament carries a total prize purse of ?5 lakh, with Dunlop AO designated as the official ball. Shibashis Dutta Gupta will serve as tournament director, while Lavleena Raizada of Gwalior will be the chief referee. Following the international Masters event, The Tennis Club will organise the All-Assam Junior Ranking Tennis Tournament from November 16 to 19 at its premises.

The junior competition will feature boys’ and girls’ singles events in the under-10, under-12, under-14 and under-18 categories. Doubles competitions will be restricted to the under-18 category.The organisers are expecting more than 50 young players from different districts and tennis clubs across Assam, an increase from the over 40 participants recorded in the previous edition.

The junior tournament will carry a prize purse of ?50,000, which may be increased depending on the number of entries. Dunlop AO will also serve as the official ball for the competition. Arup Kumar Deb will be the tournament director, while Arnab Dutta will take charge as chief referee.

Mahavir Prasad Jain, president of The Tennis Club, Silchar, and Debashish Swami, its general secretary, expressed confidence that the back-to-back tournaments would strengthen the tennis ecosystem in the Barak Valley.

They said the events would give local players an opportunity to compete alongside experienced national and international competitors, while providing young players with valuable exposure and experience at a higher level of competition.