Vatsal claims under-10 boys crown

MUSCAT: Vatsal Manikandan clinched the boys under-10 singles crown at the Annual Tennis Tournament sponsored by Falcon Insurance Company and organised by the Indian Social Club.

In a repeat of last year;s final, the top seed dominated the title clash from start to finish to retain the boys under-10 crown with an emphatic 6-1, 6-1 victory over second seed Praneeth Raj.

The manner in which Vatsal went about is commendable. The overall improvement his game has undergone is evident.

It was in February this year that he had lost to Praneeth in the semi final of the ISC Open Junior Tournament. Vatsal served three aces and showed consistency in his ground strokes.

Overpowered

He planned his moves and used the flanks to score winners.

Inspite of Vatsal’s onslaught, Praneeth maintained his composure and played delightful ground- strokes only to be overpowered by Vatsal’s superior anticipation and variety of strokes.

Stuti Mathur, Smrithi Iyer, J. Kaavya and Akshitha AR, meanwhile, have qualified for the semifinals of the girls under-12 singles competition.

Stuti finished on top of her group remaining unbeaten in the round robin league while Smrithi Iyer topped the other group.

In the semifinal matches, Stuti will take on Akshitha AR and J. Kaavya will play Smrithi Iyer for a place in the final.