The winners of the four-day 39 all India Electricity Sports Control Board tennis tournament, which was inaugurated at the synthetic tennis complex at IGMC stadium here on Monday, will get two increments while the runner-up will obtain one. The player who finishes third will carry home Rs. 20,000.

The all India fixture, held for the first time in Vijayawada, was declared open by chief engineer of APSPDCL K. Raja Bapaiah and Superintending Engineer (Operation Circle) B. Mohan Krishna, amidst players from power corporations from 12 States including teams from Andhra Pradesh – APTransco and APGenco.

The tournament assumes importance as a six-member team will be selected which will take part in the national-level inter-institutional tournament, a prestigious event in which several institutes like Indian Railways, banks and LIC will compete.

“Top six players in the singles open segment will automatically make it to the national team. Several national-level players will be seen in action which will be held both in the morning and evening sessions,” said Mr. Bapaiah. He said Vijayawada was well known for premier educational institutions and also a vital sports centre with the best of sporting facilities.

Last year the fixture was held at Lucknow in which Kerala Electricity Board emerged winners. UP Power Sector and Punjab Electricity Board took the second and third places respectively. The tournament will feature both singles and doubles.

APTransco Sports officer Kumara Vadivelu said that all the players were provided accommodation in various guest houses and boarding will be provided for all the four days.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – May 19th, 2014