Impressive Lakshmi sets her eyes on twin final berths

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 18

Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar edged out Hitakamya Singh Narwal to move into the girls’ U-16 semifinals before she downed Simran Pritam of Punjab in the girls’ U-18 quarterfinals in St Stephen’s School CLTA-AITA Super Series Tennis Tournament, today.

Competing in the girls’ U-16 category, Lakshmi registered a 6-4 6-2 win over Hitakamya. Second seed Anjali Rathi of Haryana drubbed Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari of Maharashtra 6-1 6-1, while fourth seed Sai Rajesh Bhoyar, also from Maharashtra, dismissed Madhurima S Sawant 6-2 6-2 to seal a spot in the last-four.

Fifth seed Tanushri Pandey of Uttar Pradesh came from behind to upset third seed Kavya Khirwar of Delhi in the quarterfinals. Tanushri lost the opening set 4-6, but came back strongly to win the next two sets 6-3 6-1.

In the girls’ U-18 competition, Lakshmi registered a 6-4 6-1 win over Simran to move into the semifinals, while third seed Sai thrashed seventh seed Hannah Nagpal 6-0 6-1. Fourth seed Anjali Rathi of Haryana dumped Chandigarh’s Radhika Vasudeva 6-2 6-2.

Ruma shed her disappointment of losing the U-16 quarterfinal match with a 7-5 6-0 win over Harnoor Kaur Sidhu of Haryana in the U-18 quarterfinals.

Sukhpreet shines

Punjab’s Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje also had a great day in office as he won both his U-16 and U-18 quarterfinal matches.

In the boys’ U-18 quarterfinals, Jhoje stunned third seeds Bhupender Dahiya of Haryana 6-2 3-6 6-2, while he registered a 6-4 6-3 win over Tamil Nadu’s Adhirit Awal in the U-16 contest.

Meanwhile, top seed Krishan Hooda of Haryana downed state-mate Ajay Singh 6-4 7-6(1) to seal a berth in the boys’ U-18 semifinals. Fifth seed Shashikant Rajput ousted Torus Rawat of Uttarakhand 6-4 6-0 and Dhananjay Singh of Himachal Pradesh upset second seed Sammr Raina of Delhi 6-4 6-0.

In the boys’ U-16 competition, Chandigarh’s Sarthak Gandhi bowed to Daksh Prasad of Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinals. Gandhi won the first set 7-6(5), but Prasad fought back to claim the next two sets 6-3 6-3 to stay alive in the championship.

Chandigarh’s Aryan Thakur overcame Gaurav Kumar 7-6(6) 3-6 6-4, while Punjab’s Jitin Kumar Chetry prevailed 7-5 6-2 over second seed Ajay Singh.

Quarterfinal results

Boys’ U-18: Krishan Hooda bt Ajay Singh 6-4 7-6(1), Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje bt Bhupender Dahiya 6-2 3-6

6-2, Shashikant Rajput bt Torus Rawat 6-4 6-0, Dhananjay Singh bt Sammr Raina 6-4 6-0

Boys’ U-16: Daksh Prasad bt Sarthak Gandhi 6-7(5) 6-3 6-3, Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje bt Adhirit Awal 6-4 6-3, Aryan Thakur bt Gaurav Kumar 7-6(6) 3-6 6-4, Jitin Kumar Chetry bt Ajay Singh 7-5 6-2

Girls’ U-18: Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari bt Harnoor Kaur Sidhu

7-5 6-0, Sai Rajesh Bhoyar bt Hannah Nagpal 6-0 6-1, Anjali Rathi bt Radhika Vasudeva 6-2 6-2, Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar bt Simran Pritam 6-4 6-1

Girls’ U-16: Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar bt Hitakamya Singh Narwal 6-4 6-2, Sai Rajesh Bhoyar bt Madhurima S Sawant 6-2 6-2, Tanushri Pandey bt Kavya Khirwar

4-6 6-3 6-1, Anjali Rathi bt Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari 6-1 6-1