Bengaluru, Nov 29 (PTI) The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) on Saturday announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh to Niki Poonacha for reaching the men’s doubles main draw of the 2026 Australian Open.
Niki and his Thai partner Pruchya Isaro won the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff held in Chengdu, China on Friday.
They defeated Japan’s Seita Kusuhara and Katsuki Nakagawa in the final 6–4, 6–3 to claim the Australian Open wildcard.
This is Niki’s first-ever Grand Slam main draw appearance.
Maheshwar Rao, the KSLTA secretary said: “We at KSLTA are extremely thrilled at Niki Poonacha’s performance at Chengdu, where he won the Australian Open wild card qualifying event along with his partner, Pruchya Isaro.
“We are happy and proud that he continues the legacy of Rohan Bopanna, who just retired. We wish Poonacha and Pruchya Isaro all the very best in Australian Open 2026 and we are sure he will make our state and nation proud.
“The KSLTA is happy to announce a reward of Rs. 1 lakh to Poonacha for this achievement.” PTI UNG AM UNG AM AM
Category: Breaking News
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