Lakshya beats Aman, enters semis

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 27 

Lakshya Gupta overcame Aman Kumar in three sets to seal a place in the boys’ U-14 semifinals in the ongoing STA-AITA Talent Series (TS-7) Tennis Championship at the Chandigarh Club, Sector 1, here on Wednesday.    

Gupta won the opening set 6-1 but Kumar fought his way back into the match with a 6-2 win in the second set. Gupta, though, regained his composure to seal the decider 6-1 and stay in contention for the final. 

Navya Verma registered a 6-2 6-0 win over Aarush Sharma, while Shubham Singh beat Rijul Bhatia 6-4 6-2. Shraey Vir downed Harsh Shandilya 6-2 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

Abhay eases into semis

Abhay Mohan, meanwhile, continued his impressive run in the tournament with a facile 6-3 6-4 win over Mahismat Kumar in the boys’ U-16 quarterfinals.

Nishank Thakur humbled Avish Verma 6-2 7-5, while Jitin Chetry and Aryan Thakur came from behind to win their respective last-eight ties.  

Chetry lost the opening set 5-7 against Paras Chauhan, but came back strongly to win the next two sets 6-0 6-2 to earn a spot in the semifinals. 

Thakur, after losing the first 1-6 to Sukhpreet Jhoje, restored the parity with a 6-4 win in the second set. He then held his nerve to beat his opponent 7-5 in the decider to stay alive in the competition. 

Aditi, Kanupriya advance

In the girls’ U-16 quarterfinals, Aditi Singh overwhelmed Vanya Arora 6-0 7-5, while Ridhima Mehra blanked Khushi Sharma 6-0 6-0. Harleen Dhanda overcame Anoushka Sharma in a marathon three-setter. 

Harleen won the opening set 6-4, but Anoushka drew level after winning the second set 6-3. Both players fought hard in the decider, but it was Harleen who maintained her calm to finally sail through with a 6-4 victory.   

Kanupriya Rajawat stretched her winning streak with a 6-3 6-2 victory against Jaskirat Kaur. 

Quarterfinals 

Boys’ U-14: Navya Verma bt Aarush Sharma 6-2 6-0, Shubham Singh bt Rijul Bhatia 6-4 6-2, Shraey Vir bt Harsh Shandilya 6-2 6-1, Lakshya Gupta bt Aman Kumar 6-1 2-6 6-1

Boys’ U-16: Abhay Mohan bt Mahismat Kumar 6-3 6-4, Aryan Thakur bt Sukhpreet Jhoje 1-6 6-4 7-5, Nishank Thakur bt Avish Verma 6-2 7-5, Jitin Chetry bt Paras Chauhan 5-7 6-0 6-2

Girls’ U-16: Aditi Singh bt Vanya Arora 6-0 7-5, Harleen Dhanda bt Anoushka Sharma 6-4 3-6 6-4, Ridhima Mehra bt Khushi Sharma 6-0 6-0, Kanupriya Rajawat bt Jaskirat Kaur 6-3 6-2