India's Ankita Bhambri has been awarded a wild card entry into the Hyderabad Open 2005, to be held between February 7 and 12, at the SAAP Tennis Complex, Fateh Maidan. The announcement was made in Hyderabad on Thursday by the tournament director Krishna Bhupathi.

Ankita Bhambri finished at world ranking of 420 last year despite a restriction in the number of events she could play because she was under 18. She was also the only Indian to make it through the qualifying rounds of the WTA tournament at Hyderabad last year. Ankita made her debut into the big league of the country's tennis circuit by winning the $10,000 ITF Kolkata title in December 2004.

Mahesh Bhupathi [Images], Managing Director of Globosport, the organisers of the tournament, said, "We are extremely pleased to award a wild card to Ankita Bhambri. She is one of the most talented players in the country, and has been performing very well in the past few months, we expect her to keep up her form and perform well in this tournament too."

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