The All-Odisha Nalco Open Tennis Tournament continued to draw flak for the draconian decision of host Bhubaneswar District Tennis Association (BDTA), which debarred coaches from competing in the event for the third year in a row. With a majority of leading players staying away in support of the coaches, the 19th edition of the tournament, which took place at Kalinga Stadium here from Dec 23-25, turned out to be a substandard one.

It was really baffling that despite being an autocratic and dubious organization, BDTA continued to enjoy the support and patronization of State Sports Department and National Aluminium Company (NALCO). While the Sports Department provided infrastructure and logistical support, Nalco funded the tournament as the title spornsor.

It is alleged that, BDTA has been carrying out its tyrannical rule under guidance of its president and senior bureaucrat Suresh Chandra Mohapatra. It is also alleged that using bureaucratic power, BDTA collected huge money for the tournament and spent it for recreation of its members.

For the record, Rutuparna Choudhury won the women’s singles title for the fourth year in succession, while Kabir Hans emerged men’s singles champion for the first time. Debabrata Pradhan and Amrutjay Mohanty bagged the titles in under-12 and under-16 boys’ singles events respectively, Simran Neha Ekka was crowned champion in under-14 girls’ singles category.

Out of the four doubles title, the most important one was claimed by men’s doubles pair of Satirtha Patnaik and Ashutosh Das, while the other three went to the veterans. CMD Nalco Tapan Kumar Chand and Union Bank DGM S K Panigrahi  gave away the prizes in the closing ceremony.

RESULTS (All finals): Under-12 Boys’ Singles: Debabrata Pradhan beat Lalit Tudu 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3. Under-16 Boys’ Singles: Amrutjay Mohanty beat Abhishek Mohapatra 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Under-14 Girls’ Singles: Simran Neha Ekka beat Alina Sayed 6-1, 6-0. Women’s Singles: Rutuparna Choudhury beat Kalaga Bhargavi 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Men’s Singles: Kabir Hans beat Satirtha Patnaik 7-6 (4), 6-4. Men’s Doubles: Satirtha Patnaik-Asutosh Das beat Kabir Hans-Aditya Satapathy 1-6, 6-4 (11-9). 40-Plus Veteran Doubles: Kamlesh Soni-Daichui Panmei beat Vivek Tibarewal-Biswajit Mishra 9-8 (5). 50-Plus Veteran Doubles: Ajay Sahu-Biranchi Narayan Mohanty beat J Ganta-Gyana Ranjan Das 7-5. 60-Plus Veteran Doubles: Prabhat Kumar Bakshi-V Raman beat J Ganta-Pramod Kumar Patnaik 6-5 (5).