Hardik overpowers top seed Rishi

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 21 

In a major upset, 10th seed Hardik Choudhary of Uttar Pradesh stunned top seed Rishi Dahiya of Punjab in straight sets to qualify for the boys’ U-16 main draw on the second day of the CLTA-AITA Super Series (U-16 and U-18) Tennis Tournament here today. 

Choudhary toppled Dahiya 6-1 6-3 to confirm his berth in the main draw.

Third seed Yugraj Singh also posted a comfortable 6-4 6-0 victory against 12th seed Rijul Bhatia of Haryana, while fourth seed Sarabjot Singh of Punjab pulled off a 6-1 6-3 victory against 11th seed Aryan Arora of Punjab. Fifth seed and local contender Aditya Chauhan defeated 13th seed Chahalpreet Singh of Punjab 6-0 6-2, while another local boy, sixth seed Gaurav Kumar, defeated Shivdev Singh Walia of Haryana 6-3 6-3.

Seventh seed Yashsvi Hooda won a tough tie against Rakshit Dhankar. Hooda won the first set 7-6(5) before going down 0-6 in the second. 

In the final set, he was once again trailing but managed to register a comeback to confirm a 6-4 win. Eighth seed Gurustat Singh Makkar of Punjab defeated local contender Anirudh Sangra 6-0 6-2, while Haryana’s Shraey Vir defeated 16th seed Shashank Singh 6-4 6-3.

Ajay stuns Yuvraj

Haryana’s Ajay Singh recorded the second major upset of the day as he defeated top seed Yuvraj Chodha of Punjab. Ajay won the match without conceding a single game (6-0 6-0). Second seed Gaurav Gulia of Haryana defeated 12th seed Yashraj S Dalvi of Maharashtra 6-2 6-1, while 10th seed Jitin Kumar Chetry of Punjab surprised third seed Aryan Thakur by logging a 6-4 7-5 victory. Tamil Nadu’s D Jeffery Sam Prakash, seeded 15, also marched into the next round by defeating sixth seed Lokesh Pun of Haryana 6-3 7-5. 

Ninth seed Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje of Punjab overpowered fourth seed Karan Shandilya of Haryana 6-0 6-2. 

Punjab’s Samar Bir Singh Sidhu fought hard to log a 7-5 1-6 7-6(11) victory against Abhay Dogra of Himachal Pradesh. Dhanya K Shah of Gujarat beat seventh seed Akash Deb of Assam 6-2 6-1. 

Eighth seed Yogee Panwar of Haryana defeated local contender Abhay Mohan 6-2 6-3.

Results (final qualifying) 

Boys' U-16 

Hardik Choudhary bt Rishi Dahiya 6-1 6-3, Shraey Vir bt Shashank Singh 6-4 6-3, Yugraj Singh bt Rijul Bhatia 6-4 6-0, Sarabjot Singh bt Aryan Arora 6-1 6-3, Aditya Chauhan bt Chahalpreet Singh 6-0 6-2, Gaurav Kumar bt Shivdev Singh Walia 6-3 6-3, Yashsvi Hooda bt Rakshit Dhankar 7-6(5) 0-6 6-4, Gurustat Singh Makkar bt Anirudh Sangra 6-0 6-2 

Boys' U-18 

Ajay Singh bt Yuvraj Chodha 6-0 6-0, Gaurav Gulia bt Yashraj S Dalvi 6-2 6-4, Jitin Kumar Chetry bt Aryan Thakur 6-4 7-5, Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje bt Karan Shandilya 6-0 6-2, Samar Bir Singh Sidhu bt Abhay Dogra 7-5 1-6 7-6(11), D Jeffery Sam Prakash bt Lokesh Pun 6-3 7-5, Dhanya K Shah bt Akash Deb 6-2 6-1, Yogee Panwar bt Abhay Mohan 6-2 6-3