Odisha State Tennis Cricket Association (OSTCA), under the aegis of Tennis Cricket Association of India (TCAI), is all set to organise the 3rd East Zone Tennis Cricket Championship at Sri Jayadev College ground, Naharkanta, Bhubaneswar from 8 to 10 November, 2019.
This was announced by OSTCA secretary Saibal Kumar Mitra (Rintu) at a press conference here today. Eight states including hosts Odisha are set to compete in this tournament. Other seven states are: Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Chattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar and Tripura.
Hosts Odisha will be aiming to clinch a title hat-trick. Odisha won the last two editions, which were held at Bhubaneswar and Ranchi in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Tennis cricket is a byproduct of cricket with a few changes in the rules. The major difference betweet the two sports is the ball. Tennis cricket is played with hard tennis ball, weighing 125 grams. Substitution of players in the playing eleven is another notable feature of tennis cricket.
According to Mitra, OSTCA is focusing on a plan to promote the sport in rural areas of the state and bring rural talents to the fore. He also announced an 18-member Odisha team for the ensuing championship.
ODISHA TEAM: 1. Ajit Ray (DoB: 17-7-1990), 2. Bibek Behera (DoB: 17-11-2000), 3. Bibhab Jena (DoB: 16-1-1999), 4. Bijay Maharana (DoB: 26-11-1999), 5. Jagatram Bhue (DoB: 12-1-1995), 6. Tushar Kumar Pattnaik (DoB: 28-6-1986), 7. Mrutyunjay Patra (DoB: 3-5-1992), 8.Bablu Behera (DoB: 21-5-1988), 9. Prabin Acharya (DoB: 25-12-1988), 10. Sahadev Das (DoB: 16-5-1997), 11. Sudhansu Kumar Jena (DoB: 28-4-1988), 12. Deepak Kumar Mallick (DoB: 5-3-1995), 13. Umakanta Behera (DoB: 7-51990), 14. Sameer Barik (DoB: 7-5-1991), 15. Santosh Pradhan (DoB: 26-5-1995), 16. Dipak Parida (DoB: 2-5-2001), 17. Bimal Kumar Mohapatra (DoB: 5-5-1994), 18. Anirudha Barik (DoB: 20-7-1987). Coach: Saibal Kumar Mitra (DoB: 1-1-1973), Manager: Basudeba Ojha (DoB: 1-7-1991).
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PHOTO: Odisha players display the winners trophy of the East Zone Tennis Cricket Championship in Bhubaneswar on 6 November 2019.