Misra, who became the first national champion in 1946, passed away yesterday. He was 88 and is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.
Misra, who was called 'Grandfather of Indian tennis, represented the country at the Davis Cup between 1947 and 1956 and also played in the Wimbledon and US Nationals in the pre-Open era in world tennis.
Born in 1923, Misra took to the game on the suggestion of his father, L P Misra.
Misra played at the South Club in Calcutta, which was the cradle of Indian tennis and his contemporaries were Narendra Nath, Man Mohan and Dilip Bose and later on Ramanathan Krishnan.
Between 1946 and 1955, Misra was one of the only three Indians to win the national title. He won the first Nationals in 1946-47, he beat Man Mohan in the final. Misra won the title for a second time in 1952.
The strapping six-footer had a powerful serve and led the Indian Davis Cup team in 1952-53. With Jimmy Mehta, Misra reached the Wimbledon men's doubles quarterfinals in 1947 and 1948. He also entered the last eight in US national doubles in 1947.
He also won the Ceylon and Malay Tennis Championships twice in 1958 and 1959.
Misra also served as the Secretary of the All India Tennis Association from 1963 to 1967 besides being a selector for Davis Cup teams.
He worked in Calcutta Port Trust and later retired from Indian Aluminium in the 1980s and was living in Delhi since the 1980s.
His elder son Gaurav Misra won the national championships and played the Davis Cup for India. Gaurav is now the Director of a tennis centre in the United States.
Misra played the sport till his 80s at the Delhi Gymkhana Club and headed the coaching programme of the All India Tennis Association. He also played both golf and squash.