Second seeds Udit Gogoi of Assam and Prerna Vichare of Maharashtra both tumbled out in the semi-finals of the All India Under-16 tennis Nationals in Mumbai on Friday.
Gogoi lost to Haryana’s fourth seed Divesh Gahlot, while Vichare was defeated by Maharashtra’s Sudipta Senthil Kumar in the boys’ and girls’ singles events.
Gahlot, ranked seventh, fought with grit and determination as he recovered after losing the opening set. Later, he did well to punish the erratic Gogoi by winning the next two sets to come out on top 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (5).
In contrast, Sudipta, ranked 18th, was dominant from the start against the third-ranked Prerna and she hardly put a foot wrong. She won the first set without dropping a game. With Prerna unable to offer much of resistance, Sudipta conceded just two games in the second as she quickly closed out the match, cruising to 6-0, 6-2 victory and set up a summit clash with Sandeepti Rao of Haryana.
Sandeepti quelled a spirited challenge from qualifier Vipasha Mehra in two closely contested sets. Ranked 63rd on the AITA ranking list, the Pune-based Vipasha, who had defeated eighth seed Gargi Pawar and fourth seed Sanya Singh in the previous rounds, made Sandeepti work hard for her points.
Both players slugged it out from the baseline, but the 17th ranked Sandeepti cleverly kept the ball in play and waited for her rival to make errors, which she capitalised on. She went on to clinch a deserving 7-6(3), 7-6(5) success and a shot at the title.
In the other boys’ singles semi-final match, third seed Sushant Dabas of Haryana tamed the unseeded Mohit Bondre of Gujarat in straight sets, winning 6-2, 7-5.
Later in the evening, Sandeepti combined perfectly with Vanshika Choudhary of Uttar Pradesh to win the girls’ doubles crown. They defeated the Maharashtra pair of Richa Chougule and Prerna Vichare 6-3, 6-3 to claim the top honours.
In the boys’ doubles final, Uddayvir Singh of Chandigarh and Dhruv Tangri of Punjab overcame the Haryana doubles combination of Sushant Dabas and Divesh Gahlot winning at 6-3, 3-6, 10-8.
Results
Girls’ singles (semi-finals): Sandeepti Rao (HR) bt Q-Vipasha Mehra (MH) 7-6(3), 7-6(5); Sudipta Senthil Kumar (MH) bt 2-Prerna Vichare (MH) 6-0, 6-2.
Boys’ singles (semi-finals): 3-Sushant Dabas (HR) bt Mohit Bondre (GJ) 6-2, 7-5; 4-Divesh Gahlot (HR) bt 2-Udit Gogoi (AS) 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(5).
Girls’ doubles (finals): Sandeepti Rao (HR) / Vanshika Choudhary (UP) bt Richa Chougule (MH)/Prerna Vichare 6-3, 6-3.
Boys’ doubles (finals): Uddayvir Singh (CH)/Dhruv Tangri (PB) bt Sushant Dabas/Divesh Gahlot 6-3, 3-6, 10-8.