Calcutta boy tosses coin before women’s final

LONDON, JULY 8: A 12-year-old orphaned boy from Calcutta made Wimbledon history by tossing the coin for choice of end before the women’s singles final on Saturday. Raju Tital was nominated by a charity, Future Hope (Calcutta), to decide which end Americans Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams would take on Centre Court.

Tital was found on Calcutta’s Howrah Station, suffering severely from rheumatic fever. Thanks to the charity he is now a keen sportsman and fluent in Bengali, Hindi and English.

Tital, smiling broadly, was photographed with both finalists’ arms around his shoulders before the match started. Officials said he was overwhelmed when he met India’s Vijay Amritraj in the players’ restaurant.

It was the first time at Wimbledon that anyone apart from the umpire has tossed the coin before a Wimbledon match. The coin used was One Rupee piece from the 1830s.