Sports India

India’s US-based promising tennis players Shikha and Neha Uberoi have decided to skip Wismalik International in Indonesia next week and reach Kolkata to prepare for the Sunfeast Open starting Sep 19.

“They are skipping the tournament in Bali (Indonesia) and are reaching Kolkata early to get acclimatised and prepare to the conditions for the Sunfeast Open,” Anirban Das Blah, vice-president of globosport (rpt: globosport), organisers of the tournament, told IANS.

“Their father (Mahesh) called me up (Thursday) to say that his daughters would reach Kolkata well in advance,” said the man who works for a company owned by tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi.

The Bali International will be played Sep 12-18.

Latest Indian sensation Sania Mirza, who became the first Indian woman to enter the fourth round of the US Open before losing top seed Maria Sharapova of Russia a few days ago in New York, will be the star attraction at both Bali and Kolkata.

Shikha, 22, who recently qualified for the Toronto tournament but lost in the first round, had entered the Bali tournament besides finding a direct entry into the Sunfeast Open.

Neha, 19, reached the semi-finals of the El Paso tournament in the US in May. She is awaiting a wild card for the Sunfeast Open.

Anirban said the wild cards for the Kolkata tournament would be decided by early next week.

“The wild cards will be decided by Tuesday or Wednesday - once Mahesh returns from the US on Monday,” he said.

“Once Mahesh is back, the wild cards will be finalised in consultation with tournament director Jaideep Mukherjea (for India Davis Cup player and captain).”

Sania Mirza said on Wednesday she enjoys carrying the weight of a billion people’s expectations and playing under pressure every time she takes to the court.

“A billion people expect me to win every time I step on the court. That’s the way it is and I enjoy playing under this pressure,” the 18-year-old said before catching an evening flight to Hyderabad.

Sania, who landed in Mumbai from New York in the early hours of Wednesday morning, said whatever she gained from this point onwards till the end of the year, vis-a-vis her WTA ranking, would be a bonus.

“At the beginning of the year I had set a top-50 ranking target. Next Monday, I would probably be around 35-36.”

Whatever comes now would be a bonus and I don’t want to aim for anything more,” she said. Having entered the US Open ranked No. 42, Sania picked up enough points from her three wins at Flushing Meadow to take her around 35.

A former Wimbledon girls’ doubles champion, Sania is looking forward to doing well at the Sunfeast Open in Calcutta, a Tier III meet beginning on September 19. “It’s going to be a very tough tournament, I am looking forward to it. But just because I won the Hyderabad title (in February) doesn’t mean I would win this one too. Let’s hope I do well.”

“It’s an honour for me to be playing with the world No. 1 doubles player. I hope we make a good team.”

Sunfeast Open Tickets - All roads lead to Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata

More than 10 Points of Sale to help fans book their tickets for Sunfeast Open 2005, Kolkata

Kolkata, September 8, 2005: The most anticipated tennis event is right round the corner! With South Asia’s biggest sporting spectacle –Sunfeast Open 2005, Kolkata ready to get underway from September 19, 2005, the tickets for all days will go on sale from Monday, September 12, 2005 from 6:00pm onwards.

The tickets are priced in a way that every tennis fan gets an opportunity to witness some of the world’s best sporting talent battle it out for the title of Sunfeast Open 2005. The tickets for the first five days from September 19 to September 23, 2005 will be priced at Rs. 200/- and Rs. 300/- for matches played on Centre Court (Court No 1) and Rs. 100/- for matches played on Court No 2.

For the semi-finals and finals to be held on September 24, 2005 and September 25, 2005 respectively, the matches will be played exclusively on the Centre Court (Court No 1) and the tickets are priced at Rs. 300/- and Rs. 400/-. There will be no matches on the Court No 2 on these dates.
In a nutshell:

Dates Centre Court (Court No 1) Court No 2
September 19-23, 2005 Rs. 200/- and Rs. 300/- Rs. 100/-
September 24 (semi-finals) Rs. 300/- and Rs. 400/-
September 25 (finals) Rs. 300/- and Rs. 400/-

Among other places, the tickets will be sold at South Club, Saturday Club, Jaidip Mukherjea Tennis Academy and at the stadium. The contact details of the outlets are given below:
Outlet Name Contact No. Outlet Name Contact No.
Planet Sports, City Centre Mall 23582391 / 23582320 Saturday Club 22405962 / 63
Forum Mall 22837334 Jaidip Mukherjea Academy 23593300
Tata Indicom, True Value Hub (City Centre Mall, Park Street) 5555 1421 – 25
5555 1360
Time & Space 30976900
Calcutta South Club 2247 9711 / 2281 0707

Also look out for the Sunfeast Open desks specially set up over the weekends (Fri, Sat & Sun) at Nicco Park, City Centre Mall, Highland Park and Swabhumi entrance.

Sunfeast Open 2005, Kolkata promises some high voltage tennis action with at least eight of the top 100 WTA ranked players like Anastasia Myskina, Elena Likhovtseva, Karolina Sprem, Maria Camerin, Laura Pous Tio, Tamarine Tanasugarn and our very Indian sensation Sania Mirza participating at this event. So hurry up and be a part of some exciting tennis action in the days to follow. Don’t miss the bus and book early.