ITF tourney's first draw match today

Bhubaneswar: The International Tennis Federation (ITF) Pro tournament kick-started at Kalinga Stadium here today after Chief Secretary AP Padhi officially inaugurated the tennis tournament.

There will be 32 draws in the tournament in which a total of 32 players from 11 countries including host India will participate.

Both singles and doubles event will be played at four 'Decoturf’ courts in the Kalinga Stadium.

Chinmay Pradhan and Anshu Kumar Bhuyan of Odisha have been allotted a wild card entry into the tournament by the All India Tennis Association (AITA).

The seven-day US $ 15,000 tournament, named ‘India Future’, to end on March 4, will be played at the Kalinga Stadium.

This is the first ever international tennis competition to be conducted by the Orissa Tennis Association (OTA) in Bhubaneswar.

While Chief Secretary AP Padhi is scheduled to inaugurate the tournament, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will felicitate some players this evening at Kalinga Stadium.