Tennis finals held, Soni awards prizes; announces Rs 2 lakh grant for association

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 9

The final match of lawn tennis competition was held at Punjab State Lawn Tennis Association, Company Bagh, here on Sunday. Chief guest Om Prakash Soni, Medical Education and Research Minister, distributed prizes to the winners.

Soni said it was a matter of great pride that the final matches of state-level competition were played at Amritsar. He said before the Partition there were lawn tennis associations in Lahore which later came to Amritsar and became Punjab State Lawn Tennis Association. He said many players from the association had also played at the national level. Congratulating the winners, Soni said the youth should focus on sports.

Soni also announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh to the association. He said face of the Company Garden would be changed and colourful flowers would be planted around the 84-acre park. He said the city was undergoing rapid development and the face of the city would be changed in the next few months.

Speaking on the occasion Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said during the lockdown period the ongoing development works at Company Bagh had come to a standstill, which has now been resumed. The mayor said that all parks in the city were being renovated under the Smart City mission. Rintu congratulated the Punjab State Lawn Tennis Association and said that it was a great initiative to hold the final tournament in Amritsar. He announced to construct a sports park at the historic garden.

Charanjit Singh Chadha, secretary of the association; Sarabjit Singh Raju, president; Harpinder Singh Gill, senior vice-president, were present on the occasion.