Aircel to sponsor Chennai Open
August 4th, 2009 - 9:36 pm ICT by IANS
Chennai, Aug 4 (IANS) Aircel, the leading telecom player in Tamil Nadu, has come to the rescue of ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament by signing a two-year sponsorship deal with the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) to the tune of Rs.50 million.
The contract was signed here Tuesday by TNTA president M.A. Alagappan and K.V.P. Baskar, Operations Director - South. The tournament will be held at SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam, here Jan 4-10.
Vice-president All-India Tennis Association and tournament committee chairman Karti P. Chidambaram said Aircel will be the “principal” sponsor and the tournament will continue to have the backing of a consortium of secondary sponsors made up of several public sector units and the Tamil Nadu government.
The tournament, previously backed by ITC and Tata Group, each for five and three years since the International Management Group (IMG) brought the event to India in 1996 when it was first held in Delhi, sponsored by the UB group, before being shifted to Chennai, was supported by a consortium headed by the TN government for the past five years.
Speculation was rife last year on the future of the tournament with the possibility of it being moved out of Chennai. Under the circumstances, Aircel’s involvement as the principal sponsor has ensured the continuation of the event in Chennai, at least for the next two years.
Under the terms of agreement, IMG is obliged to guarantee participation of at least one top-10 player and two from top-20. However, Ravi Krishnan, IMG’s Managing Director - South Asia and Senior Vice-president Worldwide, said it was far too early to name the players.
“We have to first see who is playing where since there are three other tournaments on the same dates besides an exhibition competition. Although Roger Federer dominated this season, many other players have performed well. We are in talks with a few of them,” said Krishnan.
Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, Baskar said the Chennai Open was a good fit for Aircel in the context of targeting the youth besides providing the company better visibility.
- Somdev felicitated for CWG, Asian Games feats - Dec 30, 2010
- Soldering confirms for Chennai Open tennis - Oct 26, 2009
- Somdev gets direct entry in Chennai Open - Nov 25, 2010
- Cilic, Berdych to play in Chennai Open - Sep 29, 2010
- Gao, Okuno top seeds at Asian Junior tennis in Chennai - May 10, 2011
- Strong field for Chennai Open - Nov 24, 2011
- Vijay Amritraj, not invited to draw, 'not upset' - Jan 03, 2010
- Hawk-eye for Chennai Open - Nov 25, 2010
- Soldering gets top billing in Chennai Open - Nov 26, 2009
- Cilic, Wawrinka for Aircel Chennai Open Tennis - Nov 12, 2009
- Somdev, Rohan receive wild cards for Chennai Open - Dec 21, 2009
- Amritraj's Chennai Open consultancy fee twice the winner's prize money (Lead, correcting second para) - Jan 04, 2010
- Amritraj consultancy fee double the prize money - Jan 04, 2010
- Karnataka to see 10 weeks of ITF action - May 08, 2012
- Two Indian pairs get Wild Cards for Chennai Open - Dec 28, 2011
Tags: atp chennai, baskar, international management group, karti, open tennis tournament, operations director, p chidambaram, principal sponsor, public sector units, roger federer, senior vice president, sponsorship deal, tamil nadu government, tata group, telecom player, tennis association, tennis stadium, tn government, tournament committee, ub group