Shashidhar rules the court
ISHIKA FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO EMERGE TOP GUN IN THE GIRLS SECTION OF THE TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Second seeded Kota Shashidhar and third seed Ishika Ritesh Agarwal flew high after emerging champions in the boys and girls categories respectively of the Open AITA Championship Series All India Ranking tennis tournament played at Carnival Club in Sainikpuri, Secunderabad.
Kota Shashidhar and V. Krishna Sai took the men’s doubles trophy.
Shashidhar outclassed top seed V. Krishna Sai of Kerala with a 6-2, 6-4 scoreline. The Telangana player kept his rival at bay throughout the match and made it really tough for him to fetch points as he wrapped up the first set 6-2.
Krishna fought well in the second set and came close to taking the match into a decider but Shashidhar, being a tough contender, brushed his rival aside and closed the set 6-4 to lift the trophy.
In girls final, Telangana’s Ishika scored a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 win over statemate P. Sreshta. Ishika sprung into action with lot of energy and ended the match on a positive note. She hardly gave chances to her rival to score points.
In the boys doubles final, Krishna paired up with Shashidhar to beat V. Kaushik Kumar Reddy and Shourya Manik with an easy 6-3, 6-0 scoreline.
Shashidhar & Co. sealed a straight sets victory to lift the trophy. Their rivals managed to win just three games in the first set but were out of ideas in the second as Shashidhar and Krishna cleaned them up with a 6-0 scoreline.
Earlier in the boys singles semifinals, top seeded Krishna defeated Deepak Vayara of Andhra Pradesh with a close contest of 9-8(3). Krishna sparked through- out the match with utmost confidence.
In the other semi, Shashidhar was on a high after routing Chhattisgarh’s Shourya Manik 9-4. Sturdy Shahsidhar was too strong to handle for Shourya. Shashidhar strolled out to the court looking to dominate and carried out the task successfully.
In the singles quarterfinals, Shashidhar enjoyed the essence of success after drubbing statemate V. Kaushik Kumar Reddy 9-4. Kaushik couldn’t bear the heat from other side and went down in the match.
Shashidhar showed his mettle in the pre-quarterfinal as well. He edged out Rishikesh Sunkara with a 8-3 verdict. It was a cake walk for him to dominate his opponent and seal a victory.
In the girls singles semifinal, local girl P. Sreshta defeated statemate Veda Varshitha as the scoreline read 9-3. Sreshta was quick and confident on the court which was the key to her victory.
Sreshta dominated her opponent from start to finish. Varshitha was always playing catch up and could not match her opponent at any point.
In the other semi, Ishika finished with a thrilling 9-6 victory over Sharma Renee. Ishika pushed her boundaries by putting in efforts as it was a neck-toneck contest. But her composure played a pivotal role in overpowering her rival.
In the girls quarterfinals, Veda Varshitha defeated Mehn Bipasha of Andhra Pradesh as the scoreline read 9-5. Varshitha was quick and confident on way to victory.
In another match, fourth seeded P. Sreshta of Telangana scored a thrilling 9-7 win over her statemate Surapur Nirmayi after both players dished out an engrossing contest.
Shashidhar continued his fine run in the doubles too to emerge winner along with his partner Krishna Sai