NEWS
MATCH REPORTS
DIARY
OTHER SPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
PEOPLE
ARCHIVES

National coach to start tennis academy

Tennis enthusiasts in Calcutta will soon have an academy to hone their skills, with former Davis Cup ace and current national coach Jaideep Mukherjea at its head.

Jaideep was handed a cheque of Rs 500,000 by the Oil and Natural Gas Comission regional director D P Bagchi for the proposed academy, on Thursday.

The non-residential academy will come up within Salt Lake stadium, with financial aid from various corporate houses. Initially, it will have four clay courts, a club house, changing rooms and a multi-gymnasium. The academy is expected to cater to boys and girls below 12 years of age.

With a projected start-up date of January 1, Mukherjea is busily negotating with various corporates for more funding. Besides Mukherjea, former national coach Enrico Piperno, and other past players, will form the corps of instructors.

The academy has been christened the Bidhan Nagar Tennis Centre and Jaideep Mukherjea Tennis Academy, and the land housing it comes via a grant from the state government.