Canara Bank Comes in as Title Sponsor for Bangalore Open 2008

Bangalore Open to be called as Canara Bank Bangalore Open 2008

Bangalore, Monday, March 03, 2008: The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association today announced that Canara bank will be the title sponsor's for the Bangalore Open 2008 WTA Tier II event scheduled between 3rd to 9th March 2008, at the KSLTA Signature Kingfisher Tennis Centre, Cubbon Park, Bangalore.

The event organized by KSLTA is also supported by the Department of Youth Services, Government of Karnataka and the Sports Authority of Karnataka. The tournament will henceforth be called "Canara Bank Bangalore Open 2008". The tournament has already grown in stature with the participation of Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia. Now, with one of India's leading Bank's support the event will be further gain in stature. Canara Bank with their recently acquired Brand Identity sees tennis as a means to reach out to the next generation. Canara Bank has over 46,000 employees, a network of 2,640 branches & over 31 million customers.

"Canara Bank is thrilled to become the title sponsor of the biggest tennis extravenza in India," said Mr M.B.N. Rao, Chairman, Canara Bank. "Canara Bank is moving into a new era in banking. Tennis is a highly competitive game and growing in stature in India. Canara Bank is proud to contribute to the growth of tennis and enhancing the brand Bangalore. We look forward to joining millions of tennis enthusiasts enjoying the outstanding women's tennis player who will compete in the Canara Bank Bangalore Open 2008."

"We are extremely delighted to welcome such a renowned brand as title sponsor of the Bangalore Open," said Mr. Sunder Raju, Tournament Director & Hon. Secretary of KSLTA. We are sure that the association of Canara bank with the Bangalore Open will go a long way in taking the game to the next level."

About Canara Bank Bangalore Open

The Canara Bank Bangalore Open will be held from 3 - 9 Mar '08 at the KSLTA Signature Kingfisher Stadium, Cubbon Park in Bangalore. The event has total prize money of US $600,000 and the winner would take home US $95,500 & 300 WTA points. The Bangalore Open was a Tier III event with prize money of $175,000 and has been upgraded to a Tier II event for the 2008 season. It is the third straight year a WTA Tour event is being organised by KSLTA.

About KSLTA

KSLTA is the Governing body of Tennis in Karnataka and is in the forefront in the country for Tennis Development. In recognition of KSLTA's Tennis development program, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) awarded the Best State Tennis Association to it during 2004. The KSLTA Tennis Stadium was originally created in 1976 to stage the First Davis Cup in Bangalore. The entire stadium was renovated fully to International Standards during October 2000 for conducting the ATP World Doubles Championship 2000 for the first time in South Asia. In appreciation of the organization, ATP allotted the Second ATP World Doubles Challenge Cup, which was held in Jan 2002.

For More Information: Amit Jain, Equator Communications, +91 98860 62866, amit@equatorpr.com

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