Lakshmi, Sukhpreet excel in both age groups

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 18

Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar won back to back matches to reach into the both U-16 and U-18 semifinals in the ongoing St Stephen’s School CLTA-AITA Super Series Tennis Tournament, today.

In the girls’ U-16 category, she won her quarterfinal match against sixth seed Haryana’s Hitakamya Singh Narwal 6-4 6-2, whereas in the U-18 event she ousted Punjab’s Simran Pritam in straight sets 6-4 6-1.

In other girls’ U-16 quarterfinals, second seed Anjali Rathi of Haryana blanked Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari of Maharashtra 6-1 6-1. Her statemate fourth seed Sai Rajesh Bhoyar also marched ahead by defeating Madhurima S Sawant 6-2 6-2. Fifth seed Tanushri Pandey of Uttar Pradesh registered a comeback win over third seed Delhi’s Kavya Khirwar. Tanushri lost the first set 4-6, but bounced back strongly 6-3 6-1 to move into the semis.

Ruma meanwhile consolidated her U-16 defeat by registering a convincing 7-5 6-0 win over Haryana’s Harnoor Kaur Sidhu to move ahead in the girls’ U-18 semis. Third seed Sai Rajesh Bhoyar of Maharashtra blanked seventh seed Hannah Nagpal of Uttar Pradesh 6-0 6-1 and fourth seed Haryana’s Anjali Rathi defeated local challenger Radhika Vasudeva 6-2 6-2.

Sukhpreet shines in both age groups

Punjab’s Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje also shined in both U-16 and U-18 age groups. In the boys’ U-18 quarterfinal, Jhoje stunned everyone by toppling third seed Haryana’s Bhupender Dahiya. Jhoje’s intentions were clear from the very first set. He won the opening set 6-2, but Dahiya bounced back by registering a 3-6 win in the second set. Jhoje was again in good form as he pulled off a stunning 6-2 win in the decider to make his way into the semis. In the U-16 category, the seventh seed Jhoje easily defeated Adhirit Awal of Tamil Nadu 6-4 6-3. In other U-18 matches, top seed Haryana’s Krishan Hooda defeated another Haryana lad Ajay Singh 6-4 7-6(1), while fifth seed Shashikant Rajput ousted Torus Rawat of Uttarakhand 6-4 6-0. Dhananjay Singh of Himachal Pradesh was another surprise entry to the semifinals after he overpowered second seed Delhi’s Sammr Raina 6-4 6-0.

There were some keen fights in the U-16 category as Daksh Prasad of Madhya Pradesh faced a tough resistance defeating local contender Sarthak Gandhi. Both the players were neck to neck during the first set, but it was Gandhi who logged a marginal 6-7(5) win in tie-breaker. However, Prasad recovered on time to register a 6-3 6-3 comeback before confirming his semis’ berth. Another local challenger Aryan Thakur logged an identical win over Gaurav Kumar. Thakur won the first set on tie-break point 7-6(6), but Kumar returned by registering a 3-6 victory. In the final set, Thakur set the pace right to win the match 6-4. Fifth seed Punjab’s Jitin Kumar Chetry meanwhile defeated Haryana’s second seed Ajay Singh 7-5 6-2.

Results (quarterfinals)

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