Calvin upsets Sunil, seals a spot in final

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 14 

City lad Calvin Golmei upset eighth seed Sunil Malik of Haryana in straight sets on a sultry afternoon at the CLTA Complex, Sector 10, here on Thursday to march into the men’s final in CLTA-AITA National Ranking Tennis Championship.     

The 17-year-old prevailed 7-6(4) 6-4 over his opponent in the semifinals to set up the title clash with top seed Ishaque Eqbal of West Bengal.

Both Golmei and Malik started off positively and held their respective serves to force the opening set into the tiebreak.    

Golmei, though, held his nerve to break free after being tied 4-4 in the tiebreak to seal the opening set.  

Malik tried his best to come back into the match in the second set but an alert Golmei was up to the task; breaking his opponent at 5-4 to make a move into the final.

Eqbal, on the other hand, had an easy outing as he packed off Delhi’s Vipul Mehta 6-1 6-2 to stay on course for the title. 

Golmei has now been pushed hard in two consecutive matches while Eqbal goes into the final far more fresh. 

Buvana, Sharannya in final

Meanwhile, in the women’s semifinals, Telangana’s Buvana Kalva rallied from as set down to beat Saumya Vig of Gujarat, while Maharashtra’s Sharannya Vijay Gaware downed Dakshata Patel.    

Buvana lost the opening set 1-6, but came back strongly to win the next two sets 6-1 6-2 to make it to the final.   

Sharannya, who has been in a terrific form throughout the tournament so far, continued her impressive run with a 7-5 6-3 win over her Maharashtra counterpart and fourth seed Dakshata.

Yash-Ishaque advance

In the men’s doubles category, top seed pair of Yash Yadav and Ishaque Eqbal registered a 6-2 7-5 win over third seeds Shimon Santosh Shastri and Aakash Nandwal to set up the title clash with the Ajay and Sunil Malik. 

The Haryana duo overcame Eklavya Singh and Abhiveer Singh Shekhawat 6-2 4-6 10-5 in the semifinals. 

Yubrani Banerjee and Shweta Chandra Rana humbled Sharannya Vijay Gaware and Sarah Dev 6-3 6-4, while Saumya Vig and Nithya Raj edged out Sara Yadav and Shrishti Daas 6-2 6-4 in the women’s doubles semifinals.

Results  

• Men: Ishaque Eqbal bt Vipul Mehta 6-1 6-2, Calvin Golmei bt Sunil Malik 7-6(4) 6-4
• Women: Bhuvana Kalva bt Saumya Vig 1-6 6-1 6-2, Sharannya Vijay Gaware bt Dakshata Patel 7-5 6-3
• Men’s doubles: Yash Yadav/ Ishaque Eqbal bt Shimon Santosh Shastri/ Aakash Nandwal 6-2 7-5, Ajay Malik/Sunil Malik bt Eklavya Singh/Abhiveer Singh Shekhawat 6-2 4-6 10-5
• Women’s doubles: Yubrani Banerjee/Shweta Chandra Rana bt Sharannya Vijay Gaware/Sarah Dev 6-3 6-4, Saumya Vig/Nithya Raj Babu Raj bt Sara Yadav/ Shrishti Daas 6-2 6-4