By IANS
Dubai : India’s multiple Grand Slam champion Mahesh Bhupathi launched his first academy outside the country in Mirdiff here Friday.
The Indian tied up with the Tennis training Centre in Mirdiff for the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy (MBTA) to nurture promising players in the country.
As many as 40 children and their parents attended the launch ceremony where Bhupathi was joined by Gaurav Natekar, vice president of MBTA at the clinic Friday, according to media reports here.
The academy will be run Anil Mathew along with a team of qualified professionals. The initiative for the joint venture came from Mohammad Al Merri, general secretary of Tennis Emirates.
The academy is the first one to be set up outside India by Bhupathi and the ninth by the MBTA. Bhupathi is associated with many ambitious projects in India, including one to develop an Indian Grand Slam champion by 2018.
MBTA will bring in coaches to conduct periodic camps, while Bhupathi will also regularly visit the academy.
The top junior players will get an opportunity to train at MBTA academies in India for two weeks every year free of cost.