Ruma stuns Kavya, enters quarters

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 17

Maharashtra’s Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari stunned top seed Kavya Khirwar of Delhi to seal a spot in the girls’ U-18 quarterfinals in St Stephen’s School CLTA-AITA Super Series Tennis Tournament here today.

Kavya won the opening set 2-6, but Ruma came roaring back and won the next two sets 7-5 6-4 to stay alive in the competition.

In another upset, Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar of Tamil Nadu downed fifth seed Tanushri Pandey of Uttar Pradesh 6-4 6-1. Haryana’s Harnoor Kaur Sidhu registered a 6-3 7-6(0) win over Niharika Praveen Deshmukh of Telangana, while third seed Sai Rajesh Bhoyar of Maharashtra drubbed Chandigarh’s Konika Singh Dhull 6-1 6-1 in the pre-quarterfinals.

Anjali Rathi had an easy outing against Mansi Mahla of Rajasthan. The fourth seed won 6-2 6-0. Chandigarh’s Radhika Vasudeva upset eighth seed Hitakamya Singh Narwal of Haryana 6-3 6-2, while seventh seed Hannah Nagpal of Uttar Pradesh dismissed Vanshita Malhotra 6-0 6-2.

Krishan motors on

In the boys’ U-18 competition, top seed Krishan Hooda of Haryana lived up to his billing as he packed off Ninaad Ravi of Karnataka in a lop-sided encounter to march into the quarterfinals. Hooda won 6-0 6-2.

Second seed Sammr Raina of Delhi edged out Deep Munim of Madhya Pradesh 6-1 6-3, while third seed Bhupender Dahiya survived an intense battle against Chandigarh’s Sarthak Gandhi.

Dahiya lost the first set 5-7, but regained his composure in time to seize the next two sets 6-3 6-2 to move into the quarterfinals.

Fifth seed Shashikant Rajput of Haryana dispatched Punjab’s Gurustat Singh Makkar 6-1 6-3 and Ajay Singh registered a 6-1 6-2 win over Delhi’s Abhik Arora. Punjab’s Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje defeated Jitin Kumar Chetry 6-2 6-0. Torus Rawat of Uttarakhand eased into quarterfinals with a convincing 6-2 6-1 win over Chandigarh’s Aryan Thakur.

Daksh stuns Deep

Daksh Prasad of Madhya Pradesh beat state-mate and top seed Deep Munim in a see-saw encounter to the move into the boys’ U-16 quarterfinals.

Prasad won the first set 6-3, but Munim managed to reverse the result in the second set. Prasad though claimed the decider 6-3 seal a berth in the last-eight stage of the championship.

Second seed Ajay Singh stormed into the quarterfinals with a 6-3 6-2 win over Ninaad Ravi, while Adhirit Awal of Tamil Nadu humbled Vitin Rathee of Haryana 6-4 6-3 in the pre-quarters. Sarthak Gandhi prevailed 6-3 3-6 6-4 over sixth seed Lakshay Vivek Kumar.

Seventh seed Sukhpreet Jhoje registered a 6-1 6-0 win over Punjab’s Aryan Arora, while Chandigarh’s Gaurav Kumar defeated Natansh Mina of Rajasthan 7-5 6-2. Local lad Aryan Thakur survived an intense battle against Maharashtra’s Jaishnav Bajiroa Shindey.

Thakur lost the first set 6-7, but fought back to win the next two sets 7-5 7-6 to move into the quarterfinals.

Fifth seed Jitin Kumar Chetry overcame Punjab’s Chahalpreet Singh 6-2 5-7 6-4 in the pre-quarterfinals.

Lakshmi ousts Niharika

Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar, meanwhile, also booked a place in the girls’ U-16 quarterfinals. The top seed trounced Niharika Praveen Deshmukh of Telangana 6-1 6-1 in the last-16 tie.

Second seed Anjali Rathi defeated Yashika Venu of Tamil Nadu 6-2 6-0, while third seed Kavya Khirwar thrashed Rubani Kaur Sidhu of Uttar Pradesh 6-0 6-2 in the pre-quarters. Fourth seed Sai Rajesh Bhoyar ousted Radhika Vasudeva 6-2 6-0.

Pre-quarterfinal Results

Boys’ U-18: Krishan Hooda bt Ninaad Ravi 6-0 6-2, Ajay Singh bt Abhik Arora 6-1 6-2, Bhupender Dahiya bt Sarthak Gandhi 5-7 6-3 6-2, Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje bt Jitin Kumar Chetry 6-2 6-0, Shashikant Rajput bt Gurustat Singh Makkar 6-1 6-3, Torus Rawat bt Aryan Thakur 6-2 6-1, Dhananjay Singh bt Himanshu Duhan 6-2 6-3, Sammr Raina bt Deep Munim 6-1 6-3

Boys’ U-16: Daksh Prasad bt Deep Munim 6-3 3-6 6-3, Sarthak Gandhi bt Lakshay Vivek Kumar 6-3 3-6 6-4, Adhirit Awal bt Vitin Rathee 6-4 6-3, Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje bt Aryan Arora 6-1 6-0, Gaurav Kumar bt Natansh Mina 7-5 6-2, Aryan Thakur bt Jaishnav Bajiroa Shindey 6-7 7-5 7-6, Jitin Kumar Chetry bt Chahalpreet Singh 6-2 5-7 6-4, Ajay Singh bt Ninaad Ravi 6-3 6-2

Girls’ U-18: Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari bt Kavya Khirwar 2-6 7-5 6-4, Harnoor Kaur Sidhu bt Niharika Praveen Deshmukh 6-3 7-6(0), Sai Rajesh Bhoyar bt Konika Singh Dhull 6-1 6-1, Hannah Nagpal bt Vanshita Malhotra 6-0 6-2, Radhika Vasudeva bt Hitakamya Singh Narwal 6-3 6-2, Anjali Rathi bt Mansi Mahla 6-2 6-0, Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar bt Tanushri Pandey 6-4 6-1, Simran Pritam bt Harleen Kaur Dhanda 6-3 6-2

Girls’ U-16: Prabha Arunkumar bt Niharika Praveen Deshmukh 6-1 6-1, Hitakamya Singh Narwal bt Riya Kaushik 6-0 6-1, Sai Rajesh Bhoyar bt Radhika Vasudeva 6-2 6-0, Madhurima S Sawant bt Harleen Kaur Dhanda 7-6(6) 6-1, Tanushri Pandey bt Pawandeep Kaur 6-1 6-2, Kavya Khirwar bt Rubani Kaur Sidhu 6-0 6-2, Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari bt Meher Mishra 6-0 2-6 6-0, Anjali Rathi bt Yashika Venu 6-2 6-0