Tennis in India

  

Indian Tennis gains popularity from British era. This game comprises both the games of Lawn Tennis and Table Tennis and India has earned significant recognition and reputation in the international arena, in both the games.

Indian Tennis and Table Tennis players have shown great performances in various prestigious regional and international tournaments, so far and have brought a lot of glory for the country, as well.

History of Tennis in India
The History of Indian Tennis is quite old and the game was brought into India by the British Army and Civilian Officers, during 1880s. The game got immense popularity among the Indians within no time. The main reason behind this was the easy rules and regulations of the game and also the excitement attached to the game. Once getting popularity in India, Tennis saw several tournaments to be organised during the later half of the 19th century. Some of the major Tennis tournaments of that time in India were the Punjab Lawn tennis Championship at Lahore that was held in 1885 and the Bengal Lawn Tennis Championship at Kolkata (1887) and also the All India Tennis Championships at Allahabad (1910).

All the Indian Tennis tournaments were used to be organised for promoting the game and also developing the entire scenario of Indian Tennis. During the colonial period, tennis was dominated by British Empire in India. Later when the Indians were familiarized with tennis, the British players dominated the championships. Having a good zeal in tennis, the Indian tennis players started making their presence in the national level. The British stranglehold was broken by veteran Indian tennis player Mohammed Saleem from Lahore, who emerged victorious in the Punjab Championship in 1915. He grabbed the trophies one after another between 1919 and 1926. Saleem's extraordinary performance stimulated other Indian players to consider the game seriously. In 1917, the Bengal Championship title was won by N.S Iyer. In the year 1919, Nagu bagged the title at the All India Singles Tennis Championship held at the Gymkhana Club at Allahabad.

Tennis in Modern India
For a better management of Indian Tennis, several state and national associations were also established in India during the first half of the twentieth century. The associations have played an important role in producing a large number of talented Tennis players to represent India in the international arena. Apart from the Tennis associations, several Indian Tennis academies are also working hard to produce talented Tennis players in India. The associations and academies are strictly following the rules of Tennis, as instructed by the All India Tennis Association (AITA).

Modern Tennis Players in India
The Indian Tennis players like Jaidip Mukherjee, Vijay Amritraj, Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania Mirza, etc. have got considerable success in various international Tennis tournaments. India has also seen a number of Arjuna Awardees in Tennis, who have been honoured by the Government of India through this award. Although Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have split and are playing with different partners, they are adding to their count of Grand Slam trophies, year by year. They shine their names and contribute a new epoch to the Indian tennis at the individual levels. The entry of Sania Mirza gave a new dimension in the Indian tennis. She has managed to deliver admirable performances, both at the national and international level. She has become an inspiration to the young sporting enthusiasts of the country. Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj are among the others to pick up the gauntlet and to enhance the stature of Indian tennis at the international level. Young players like Ankita Raina, Prakash Amritraj, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Prarthana Thombare, Stephen Amritraj, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Harsh Mankad establishing their names in tennis after Mahesh and Leander.

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