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IMG and a watch company, the official time-keeper of the Chennai Open 2007, organised a 'Charity Evening' on January 5, 2007, for an auction of tennis memorabilia, orchestrated by the legend of Indian tennis, Vijay
Amritraj.
The proceeds of the memorabilia auctioned during the charity evening were donated to CRY, an NGO which works towards the betterment, development and the uplift of children at the grassroots-level.
The 'Charity Evening' was attended by the creme-del-la-creme of society along with the star attraction of Chennai Open 2007, Vida Samadzai - Miss Earth Afghanistan 2003. Joining hands in the social cause were some Indian models of the likes of Sonal Sharma, Tanya Vakil, Romil Srivastava, Himani Thapa and international models like Donna Catherine, Nicole Ladisalu Fereira and Maria Pucu
Gantois.
The gathering that comprised tennis patrons and die-hard sport lovers of Chennai donated generously. 'The spirit to contribute was vibrant all through the fun-filled evening with the good-humoured Vijay encouraging the participants to bid higher for the goods.
The total proceeds amounted to Rs. 5,67,000 out of which the total amount collected by the Rolex Charity Auction was Rs 1,58,500 came from the charity auction, while IMG's contribution was a matching amount of Rs 1,58,500 and the watch company Rs 2,50,000.
The bidding opened with the auction of world No. 2, Rafael Nadal's T-shirt and mini bat autographed by him, which generated a huge amount of Rs 20,000.
The auction of Maria Sharapova's pink hat was the most interesting with Vijay Amritraj challenging an old gentleman for its priced possession. The friendly banter reverberated with Vijay claiming, "it feels awesome. The colour suits my complexion better than yours and matches with my tie too". To increase the interest levels, he went on to add a weekend stay at the Park Chennai for two (breakfast and dinner included). The gentleman taunted Vijay and asked him to "stop fondling the hat all the time" and finally bought the hat for Rs 25,000.
The much-wanted item on the memorabilia list was a cricket bat signed by world No. 2, Rafael Nadal and India's former cricket captain, Kris Srikkanth. The bid started at Rs 25,000 and went up to Rs 40,000. In an interesting development, there was a phone bidder too who participated and actually took away the prized possession.
Other items that were auctioned during the evening were John McEnroe shoes, James Blake T-shirt and headband, bought by Vijay Amritraj for Rs 11,000; Pete Sampras' T-shirt and Jennifer Capriati T-shirt bought for Rs 15,000; Carlos Moya shoes and autographed T-shirt for Rs 14,000; David Nalbandian T-shirt and a Pat Cash headband for Rs 7,500; Tata Open T-shirt signed by Rafael Nadal, Scrichapan, Roberdo, Woodbridge, Bhupati and many more plus a mini bat signed by Rafael Nadal for Rs. 26,000.
Apart from the many facets of Chennai Open, which has helped the tournament gain respect all round the world, an important aspect of the 11-year-old tournament is the importance it gives to the cause of charity.
Every year contributions are made towards a social cause either by individual players or the organisers and associated sponsors.
IMG organises activities every year on the sidelines of the tournament thus inspiring the other parties associated with the tournament (players from all over the world, sponsors, celebrities attending the event, audience and fans alike) to join hands for the good cause.
In the wake of the destruction caused by the tsunami, Chennai Open 2005 had raised proceeds worth Rs 1 million in aid of the Chief Minister's Relief Fund through a charity auction. Players like Carlos Moya contributed their entire winning prize money towards this cause. Also, Rafael Nadal, who had to pull out of the 2006 edition due to an injury, decided to make his worthy contribution in aid of the tsunami victims.
R Rangaraj
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