Leander Paes hands over prizes at Akhtar Ali Foundation tennis tournament in Bengal
Telegraph | 7 November 2025
The Akhtar Ali Foundation Super Series Junior Tennis Tournament was held over six days last week at the Bengal Tennis Academy.
The event was being resurrected after a gap of four years. “It used to be an annual affair. After the passing of nana (in 2021) we had kept it on hold but decided to go ahead this time. This is the 20th edition,” said Jaffer Javed, the founder of Akhtar Ali Foundation. Javed, known in the tennis circuit as JJ, is the son of Ali’s daughter Nilofer Ali.
The cynosure of all eyes at the presentation ceremony on Friday was tennis legend Leander Paes, who arrived on time but with an under-16 doubles semi-final continuing beyond schedule chose to stay on the first-floor verandah so as not to distract the players by coming down to the courtside.
Once Monodip Dey and Sk. Abu Aayan prevailed over their opponents Sankalp Sahani and Priyadarshan Pradhan 6-3, 5-7, 11-9 to reach the final, the prize distribution began. This meant that the boys under-16 singles and doubles finals were postponed to the next day as top seed Monodip was to feature in both.
While guests Vikram Swarup and Imran Zaki as well as the master of ceremonies Satyajit Burman shared memories of Ali and spoke of his contribution, Leander lauded the entire family for being pillars of tennis in Bengal. “I would not be who I am without Akhtar Ali. I also salute aunty for her quiet support,” said the winner of eight men’s doubles and 10 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.
Paes also advocated picking up the racquet for people of all age groups. “Tennis is not just about playing Grand Slams and winning these beautiful trophies but also about good health — mental and physical. Today we all get to live beyond 80 years but what quality of life are we living? A sport, especially tennis, gives you a better quality of life because in tennis you have to use your right brain to get proper footwork and build muscle memory and you also have to use your left brain to induce creativity in your game — the angles, the drop shots, the lobs, the passing shots... Tennis is one of the great sports of the world that produces a great quality of life,” he said.
Among the winners who received their trophies from Leander was Aleena Farid. The 15-year-old, who was quick to point out that she would be 16 in November, had started playing her under-16 singles matches from 9.30am. The 6-1, 6-2 scoreline shows she did not have to break much sweat to cross the hurdle. Indeed, she could wrap up her semi-final match in an hour. She took the court again with her younger sister Ayra at 2.30pm for the doubles final, wrapping it up at 6-1, 8-6 in two hours. “This is just the second time that we are playing as a team. We are very close,” she smiled.
Monodip Dey, the boys’ top seed, hails from Machontola, a village in Bankura. He trained at Bengal Tennis Academy from 2017 to 2023 when he stayed in IA Block with his brother Monojoy. “I have shifted to Roundglass Tennis Academy in Chandigarh now and have come to play this tournament,” said the Rafael Nadal fan. On Saturday, he added the under-16 singles title to his kitty but had to be content with the runners-up spot in doubles.
On Friday, there was a long queue to get pictures clicked with Leander, who obliged all the budding players with a smile. In between, Ridhima Mullik, the girls’ doubles under-14 winner, realised that they had been handed the corresponding boys’ trophies and rushed to make the exchange, taking her partner Mrigakshee Changmai of Assam along.
All the guests urged the Ali family to continue with the tournament.