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In what is a visionary move, Gujarat State Tennis Association (GSTA) is one of the first few states who has collaborated with Tennis Premier League (TPL), which is in its sixth season, and together have pledged their support to the grassroots programmes in tennis, locally. The TPL announced this move as part of the nationwide Race to Gold (RTG) initiative, which is aimed at unearthing India's tennis gems and providing them with scholarships to help further their careers. This ground-breaking program aims not just to discover talent but to nurture it, year after year, creating a legacy of excellence in Indian tennis.
The TPL and GSTA will work together and support young aspiring tennis players, along with helping organise tennis tournaments at various age-groups. The year-long programmes of the GSTA have been quite good, and have produced some fantastic players, and this drive aligns perfectly with the TPL's ideology, which aims to ensure that there is no disruption in the pipeline. Now, the team of TPL and GSTA aims to further up the ante in terms of creating a competitive but healthy environment for the young players. The tournaments, which will be organised by TPL and GSTA together, will also benefit young players in their district rankings and it will also eventually lead up to the RTG scholarship. Tournaments will be held across all the cities of Gujarat and top players from each of these cities will participate in the masters which will be held in Ahmedabad. A total of 9 players from Boys & Girls U10, U12, U14 and Men's & Women's will be a part of the special group who will be awarded the scholarship. The young players go through intense district-level tournaments through the year, before forming a batch of 72 players nationwide. These players are awarded a scholarship worth Rs 75,000. The scholarship includes an advanced tennis racquet, a professional kit bag, a pair of shoes amongst other tennis equipment and a live TPL experience. Meanwhile, the TPL also launched their own Mobile App last year, and it is an innovative venture that is helping the league organise many grassroots tournaments across the country. The TPL App connects the tennis community across India and allows them to interact with each other, and lets tennis players track their progress. It is associated with over 100 academies from various regions of India. Chintan Parikh, President of Gujarat State Tennis Association said, "In the last half-decade, we have seen plenty of interest and good young players in Gujarat, and it gives us great joy to be in a position to help them, and hopefully open a few doors for them through this collaboration." Shrimal Bhatt, Honourable Secretary of Gujarat State Tennis Association, added, "The association between the GSTA and TPL is great news for the junior circuits in and around Gujarat, as it encourages competition, which can only help raise the standard of the sport. This partnership has the ingredients to be a very successful one, and we hope it stands the test of time, and more importantly produces a few good players, who will go on to make India proud." Kunal Thakkur, Co-Founder, Tennis Premier League was elated about this partnership, and said, "At TPL, nurturing talent and providing opportunities for upcoming players is high on the agenda and through this partnership, we want to see the best of the best make it to the top." Highlighting the transformative nature of the initiative, Mrunal Jain Co-Founder, Tennis Premier League, added, "This partnership with the GSTA will go a long way in bolstering the grassroot structures in tennis in Gujarat, and we are confident sooner than later, there'll be players graduating to the TPL as well."(ANI)
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