KARACHI, Nov 19: The Saeed Hai national ranking tennis championship carrying prize money of Rs200,000 will be played at Karachi Gymkhana synthetic courts from Nov 27. The main rounds will be preceded by two-day qualifiers.

The details of the event, which is being organised by Sindh government in collaboration with the Sindh Tennis Association (STA), were announced at a press conference held at the venue on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, secretary Sports and Youth Affairs, Shoaib Siddiqui, said his department will continue to honour sportspersons of the province who have won laurels to the nation.

Showering praise on Hai, he said the veteran player and official had set the precedent by featuring in Wimbledon, US and French Opens soon after country’s coming into being and is a towering figure in country’s history of the game.

It is pertinent to mention that the provincial government has doled out Rs250,000 to meet the expenses while the president the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), Kaleem Imam, has promised a contribution of Rs100,000.

Adviser to the Sindh chief minister for sports, Haleem Adil Sheikh, eulogised the services rendered by Hai for over half century.

Jamal Mirza threw light on the achievements of Hai, who played Wimbledon thrice, US and French Opens twice and was awarded gold medal by the ITF in recognition of his services to the game.

He said the French Tennis Federation while celebrating 100th year of tennis in the country built a commemoration wall which among others, also carried the name of Hai.

He added that Hai was the only Muslim who had won all-India national championship at famous South Club, Calcutta, in 1949 and the Jawaharlal Nehru Cup.

The Aligarh-born Khwaja Saeed Hai, thanked the ministry of sports and the PTF for honouring him.

Earlier, secretary Sindh Tennis Association, Khalid Rehmani, threw light on the event which will be played in men’s singles, ladies singles, juniors’ under-18 singles, boys’ under-14 singles, men’s doubles and seniors 50 plus doubles.

Last date for the submission of entries is Nov 23.