Prinkle selected in Indian team for Thailand under-14 tournament
Currently ranked No. 2, Prinkle is just a few ranking points away from snatching the top ranking from Mahak Jain
On February 18, when Prinkle Singh was celebrating her 14th birthday with members of her family and friends, she got a call from her coach. The news which the coach broke made her day even more memorable. He informed Prinkle that she had been selected in the Indian team for ITF Asia under-14 tournament to be held in Thailand next month.
Given her excellent form, the news was more or less expected but it still rang sweet in her ears. Ever since the dawn of the new year, Prinkle has been enjoying a purple patch. She has won titles everywhere she has gone and is yet to lose a singles match this season. Beginning with the AITA Nationals Series tournament in Delhi this January, Prinkle maintained her winning momentum.
Her next destination was Kolkata, where the AITA National Series Road to Wimbledon tournament was one of the most important tournaments of her young fledgling career. After winning both the singles and doubles titles in Kolkata, she then maintained a stranglehold over her opponents and won titles in the Chandigarh and Delhi legs of the Road to Wimbledon tournament.
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After sealing victory in Delhi, she did not go to Mumbai to take part in the last leg of the tournament and instead returned to Chandigarh to spend time with members of her family.
“Playing in Mumbai did not make sense as she already had made ranking points and even if she had won there, she wouldn’t have earned any points. The best three performances are counted and she had already won titles in all the three tournaments,” said Gajendra Singh, director (coaching and development), CLTA.
Despite missing the Mumbai leg, Prinkle still managed to accumulate 225 points, the highest among the participants, and has qualified for the Junior Masters tournament to be held in Delhi in April. With two places up for grab for the UK HSBC National Finals to be held on the grass at Wimbledon in August, Prinkle is the player to beat in the tournament, and is among the favourites to book the ticket to Wimbledon.
Before the Junior Masters, Prinkle will focus on the junior tournament to be held in Thailand. “Prinkle has been playing very well this year and it isn’t surprising to see her breaking into the Indian U-14 team. Her presence will bolster the Indian team,” added Gajendra, who is Prinkle’s coach at CLTA.
On the verge of playing for the Indian U-14 team, Prinkle will match the feat of her elder brother Sumit Pal Singh, who was a member of the Indian team that won the Qatar Asian Junior U-14 Team Cup in December 2013.
Like Prinkle, Sumit Pal is among the very few players from Chandigarh to have won every title that is on offer at the national level. Currently placed eighth in boy’s U-16 AITA rankings, he is the lone player from Chandigarh in the top 10.
Prinkle, on the other hand, has an opportunity to become the number one in girl’s U-14 category. Currently ranked No. 2, Prinkle is just a few ranking points away from snatching the top ranking from Mahak Jain.
“I am sure she will achieve the number one ranking this year. She is playing very well. After the Road to Wimbledon tournament, Prinkle will focus on ITF junior tournaments,” said Gajendra.
Both Prinkle and Sumit Pal are students of Ashiana Public School, Chandigarh.
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