Sarthak stuns Akash, enters semis

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, December 19 

Sarthak Gandhi stunned top seed Akash Deb in straight sets to seal a place in the boys’ U-16 semifinals in the St Stephen’s School CLTA-AITA Championship Series (CS-7) Tennis Tournament here on Wednesday. The sixth seed won 6-2 6-4.

Fifth seed Bhupender Dahiya surprised fourth seed Divgurjot Singh 6-3 6-2, while third seed Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje registered a 6-4 6-3 win over eighth seed Gaurav Kumar. Seventh seed Gurustat Singh Makkar came from behind to upset second seed Jitin Kumar Chetry in the quarterfinals.

Makkar lost the opening set 1-6, but came back strongly to win the next two sets 6-2 6-3 to move into the semifinals. 

In the boys’ U-18 quarterfinals, top seed Krishan Hooda lived up to his billing as he dominated seventh seed Manveer Singh 6-3 6-1.

Bhupender Dahiya humbled Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje 6-1 6-3 and third seed Shashikant Rajput downed Jitin Chetry 6-2 6-1. Second seed Uddayvir Singh prevailed 7-5 6-0 over Parveen Kumar.

Suryanshi motors on

Top seed Suryanshi Tanwar packed off seventh seed Catherine Bhangu 6-2 6-0 to move into the girls’ U-16 semifinals. 

Second seed Simran Pritam registered a 6-1 6-3 win over fifth seed Aditi Singh. Sixth seed Pawandeep Kaur overcame Riya Kaushik, while fourth seed Radhika Vasudeva prevailed over Sachi Anirudh Patwardhan in the quarterfinals. 

Pawandeep after losing the opening set 6-7(1), came back strongly to win the next two sets 6-3 6-2 and stay alive in the competition. 

Radhika lost 6-7(5) to Sachi in the first set, but the fourth seed clinched the remaining two sets 6-2 6-3 to remain in contention for a place in the final.

In the girls’ U-18 category, Radhika Vasudeva upset top seed Princy Panchal 6-4 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Sixth seed Ashpreet Kaur Bajwa surprised fourth seed Harleen Kaur 6-3 7-6(4), while eighth seed Pawandeep Kaur dumped second seed Sukhmani Sahota 6-1 6-4.

Third seed Simran Pritam registered a 6-2 6-1 win over fifth seed Riya Kaushik to ensure a place in the last-four. 

Meanwhile, top seeds Krishan Hooda and Uddayvir Singh humbled second seed pair of Sukhpreet Jhoje and Jitin Chetry 6-4 6-1 to set up the title clash with Yashvardhan and Manveer Singh.

The fourth seed duo registered a 6-2 7-6(6) win over Bhupender Dahiya and Shashikant Rajput in the semifinals.

Quarterfinals 

Boys’ U-16: Sarthak Gandhi bt Akash Deb 6-2 6-4, Bhupender Dahiya bt Divgurjot Singh 6-3 6-2, Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje bt Gaurav Kumar 6-4 6-3, Gurustat Singh Makkar bt Jitin Kumar Chetry 1-6 6-2 6-3

Boys’ U-18: Krishan Hooda bt Manveer Singh 6-3 6-1, Bhupender Dahiya bt Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje 6-1 6-3, Shashikant Rajput bt Jitin Kumar Chetry 6-2 6-1, Uddayvir Singh bt Parveen Kumar 7-5 6-0

Girls’ U-16: Suryanshi Tanwar bt Catherine Bhangu 6-2 6-0, Pawandeep Kaur bt Riya Kaushik 6-7(1) 6-3 6-2, Radhika Vasudeva bt Sachi Anirudh Patwardhan 6-7(5) 6-2 6-3, Simran Pritam bt Aditi Singh 6-1 6-3