“Gujarat is really prospering in tennis” – Tournament Director Shrimal Bhatt Reflects on ITF W50 Milestone Event
In a significant milestone for Gujarat tennis, the state recently hosted its first-ever ITF W50 tournament in Ahmedabad. This prestigious event, offering a prize purse of $40,000, marked a new chapter in the region’s sporting journey. To gain deeper insights into this landmark tournament and the future of tennis in Gujarat, Indian Tennis Daily’s Bhargav Mehta caught up with the man behind this historic event.
Mr. Shrimal Bhatt, serving as the Tournament Director for this groundbreaking $40,000 competition, took a moment between matches to discuss what this means for Gujarat tennis and highlight the state’s remarkable progress in the sport. Here’s what the visionary administrator had to say about this watershed moment for tennis in the region:
Interview:
Bhargav: Good morning, sir. This is Bhargav from ITD. Sir, please tell your thoughts about this tournament.
Mr. Shrimal Bhatt: I’m so happy that W50 ITF $40,000 is happening in Gujarat, in Ahmedabad. It’s the first time Gujarat is hosting an event of such a big stature. And definitely we’d like to thank the Sports Authority of Gujarat for funding this event, and all the committee members, especially our president Chintan Parikh for the support, and All India Tennis Association for the support. And we are hoping that a tournament of even bigger nature will happen soon in Ahmedabad.
Bhargav: Okay thank you. And sir, how is Gujarat doing in tennis?
Mr. Shrimal Bhatt: Well Gujarat is prospering in tennis. We just had the maximum number of medals in the medal tally in the 38th National Games at Dehradun. We have our Davis Cupper Aryan Shah now. We have a strong federation team with of course, Ankita, Vaidehi, and Zeel as regular members. We have excellent juniors like Samarth and Jensi Kanabar and Kabir Parmar. So these are all the people who have been doing very well and Gujarat is really prospering in tennis.
Bhargav: Thank you so much sir for your time.
