We have shown to world, India can pull off big events despite COVID-19 challenge: Tata Open Organisers

Tata Open Maharashtra, the organisers said on Monday. Not a single main draw player got infection and no match was cancelled in the ATP 250 event, country's biggest tennis tournament. The organisers say given the massive withdrawals witnessed at the India Open badminton tournament and the way Indian women football team was forced out of the Asian Cup, they certainly felt the pressure.

"These incidents happened and we were under pressure to deliver. But we were determined to pull it off. Now we can boast about an incident-free and successful event for the world to see and prove critics, who demean India most of the time, wrong," Sunder Iyer, Secretary of Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), told PTI.

"The successful hosting of the event has given a positive message to the world about the reopening of the sports events. We don't need to cancel any sporting event, we just need to find a way to do it." "Not only this, the big message is that India can successfully host big tournaments," Iyer, who is also a AITA joint secretary, said. India's Ramkumar Ramanathan and Rohan Bopanna won the men's doubles title while Portugal's Joao Sousa annexed the men's crown.

Fans were also allowed in the stands during the last three days. The MSLTA cut down the number of people working for the tournament to about 100-130, including housekeeping, security and logistics team as compared to usual 300 in pre-Covid era. The volunteers were also less in numbers - from 55-60 to 18-19.

"The players stayed in one hotel while we settled in another. A different hotel was dedicated to the balls men, the linesmen. Everybody working in the vicinity, near and around the players, who are in direct contact with each other, are all in the