Dear Bana Member

We would like to announce with great pride that one of our members, Sathwik Rai has been selected to represent India at the 2010 World Racquetball Championships to be held in Seoul, South Korea from Aug 11-22. Sathwik is the son of Prabhakar Rai and Usha Rai from Bangalore and is a member of BANA from Philadelphia.

In his very first appearance at a US national tournament, Sathwik won a silver medal in his age and skill division at the 2009 US National Singles championships held at Houston, Texas. He later represented India at the prestigious 2009 US OPEN Racquetball Championships held at Memphis, Tennessee. Sathwik has a history of athletic achievements going back to his teenage years. He is a former Indian national swimmer and won a bronze medal for India at the 1991 Asia Pacific Age Group Swimming Championships held at Singapore. He has won over 200 medals at national, state, regional and university level swimming events in India from 1990-2000 before leaving to the US to pursue higher education.

His profile can be found on the Team India Racquetball website at http://www.racquetballindia.com/PlayerSathwik.aspx .

The information about the World Championships can be found on the International Racquetball Federation website http://www.internationalracquetball.com/00irf_worlds2010release.htm Unfortunately since the Indian Racquetball Federation in Mumbai is relatively new, Indian Government funding is still non existent. The onus is on the team members to raise their own sponsors. The expected expenses per player is USD 4300 (this can also be found online at http://www.racquetballindia.com/TeamSponsor.aspx Well wishers and interested BANA members can make a contribution to Sathwik’s player fund online via the website. http://www.racquetballindia.com/PlayerSathwik.aspx . If anybody would like to advertise their company on the Team India website, they can contact Sathwik directly (Tel: 267-254-4639 Email: sathwik@gmail.com ) or email TEAM INDIA at sponsorships@racquetballindia.com

Please treat this email with personal interest since it involves the chance for one of us to represent India at the highest competitive levels. We would like to make sure that Sathwik has the best chance to make the most out of this opportunity and wish him all the best.