Double delight for Ishaque

After returning trophy less in his last tournament,CLTA lad Ishaque Eqbal more than made up for it by winning the Under-12 singles and Under-14 doubles title in the AITA Talent Series Tennis Championship being held at the CLTA Stadium,Sector 10 in Chandigarh on Friday.

After returning trophy less in his last tournament,CLTA lad Ishaque Eqbal more than made up for it by winning the Under-12 singles and Under-14 doubles title in the AITA Talent Series Tennis Championship being held at the CLTA Stadium,Sector 10 in Chandigarh on Friday.

Ishaque,top seed in the boys’ Under-12 category,rallied to beat second seed Shrey Gupta of Haryana in straight sets by 6-4,6-3 in the final. Ishaque,who had lost to Shrey Gupta in the finals of AITA Total Tennis Talent Series Championship few days ago,looked in total control with his game and executed some well played shots from the baseline which Shrey found hard to counter.

Playing a perfect blend of calmness and aggression,Ishaque claimed the first set with a margin of 6-4 before claiming the second and final set by 6-3.

Meanwhile,in the boys’ Under-14 category,fourth seed Sachin Kumar upset top seed Tejas Kapoor of Delhi in a very closely fought final match by 6-4,0-6,6-3.

With a reputation hanging over him to justify his seeding,Tejas faltered in the first set which he lost by 4-6. On the other hand,his opponent Sachin displayed tremendous energy on the field and completely took Tejas by surprise. However,Sachin lifted his game in the second set and without losing any game dominated the set and claimed it by 6-0.

Just when it seemed that Tejas would complete the formality in the final set than the fourth seed Sachin came up with another stunner. Sachin,a CHART trainee,did not let his opponent overwhelm him this time and kept his cool to finish the final set by 6-3.

In the boys’ Under-14 category,top seeded duo of Ishaque Eqbal and Sachin Kumar defeated Ranjeet Singh and Dheeranush Bhatti,the second seed,by -6,7-5 10-4. The second seeded pair surprised everyone when they claimed the first set by 6-3. However,Ishque and Sachin returned to their best and annexed the second set by 7-5. Even in the marathon final set,the top seeded pair had their opponent on the backfoot with their superb coordination and claimed the set by 10-4.

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In the girls’ Under-12 category,as expected Nandani Sharma of St Anne’s School,Sector 32,lived up to her reputation by stunning second Shrishti Dhanda of Haryana in the final. Maintaining her form,giant killer Nandani today won in straight sets 6-1,6-2. In her semi-final match,Nandani had surprised top seed Harsimran Kaur of Haryana by 6-1,6-2.

Meanwhile,second seed Padmaja Gawande of Maharasthra upset top seed Charvi Saxena of Chandigarh in straight sets by 6-2,6-4. Charvi,who had been in ominous form in the tournament,looked off colour in the final as she failed to justify her top billing. Padmaja had no problems in overpowering her fancied opponent.

Results:
(Finals): Boys: U-14: Sachin Kumar (4) (CHD) bt Tejas Kapoor (1) (DLI) 6-4,0-6,6-3; U-12: Ishaque Eqbal (1) (WB) (CLTA) bt Shrey Gupta (2) (HAR) 6-4,6-3; U-14: Doubles: Ishaque Eqbal (WB)/Sachin Kumar (CHD) (1) bt Ranjeet Singh (CHD)/Dheeranush Bhatti (CHD) (2) 3-6,7-5 10-4; Girls: U-14: Padmaja Gawande (2) (MAH) bt Charvi Saxsena (1) (CHD) 6-2,6-4; U-12: Nandini Sharma (3) (CHD) bt Shrishti Dhanda (2) (HAR) 6-1,6-2.

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