Brief date with Ferrer a shot in the arm for Kadhe

Kadhe won the U-18 title at the nationals in Delhi last year and was also crowned the men’s doubles champion at the same event. Though Kadhe faltered in the final,he believes that playing against India’s best players has definitely been an education for him.

“I went into the Nationals with the aim of progressing past the second round. I was handed a tough draw and I thought my tournament was over in the second round,” he says. Kadhe was to face Tamil Nadu’s VM Ranjith in the second round. “Ranjith was the second seed and I just went on court with nothing to lose,” says Kadhe who took the first set against the experienced Ranjith 6-3. The Tamil Nadu lad came back to take the second set 5-7 but then twisted his ankle in the third and forfeited the match.

“Once I had gotten past Ranjith,I was really confident of doing well. Incidentally,all the players I faced were from Tamil Nadu and all of them are good,consistent players. I just told myself to play my natural brand of aggressive tennis and not worry about my opponent,” he says. Kadhe won his quarterfinal match against Mohit Mayur in straight sets and also demolished his semi-final opponent R Ramkumar 6-2,6-3.

Facing Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in the final was a daunting prospect. “Nedunchezhiyan had dropped just one set over the course of the tournament. I began well in the first set and we were tied at four all in the tie-break. However,after that my impatience and maybe the occasion got to me. I was trying to hit winners all the time and it was difficult to sustain,” he says.

After his exploits at the Nationals,Kadhe’s priority is on strengthening his lower body. “The Nationals were a good place to judge myself against the top Indian players. A strong lower body will help my performance on the court. I need my legs to stay with me till the last point of a match.” he says. The 18-year-old who trains under coach Hemant Bendre at PYC Gymkhana says that he is following a specially designed program that will focus on fortifying his legs.

Patience is the other thing that Kadhe has been religiously working on. “In the final I was pulling out the big winners very quickly. I am training to pace myself better. I am focussing on drills that allow me to soften up my opponent before playing my big forehand.” he says.

Cathedral school Lonavala capture football crown

HOSTS Cathedral Vidya School,Lonavala won the football tournament Spandan-2012. The tournament was organised at the school’s Lonavala campus. Fourteen International Baccalaureate (IB) schools from Pune,Mumbai,Indore and Lonavala participated in the event. The two-day event also included a basketball competition. The tournament was held for two age groups,U-16 and U-18 for both boys and girls. Cathedral Vidya School won the U-16 boys basketball title.

Kendriya Vidyalaya national sports meet kicks off

THE 43rd national sports meet for girls of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghatan kicked off at the Balewadi sports complex on Tuesday. Various Kendriya Vidyalayas across the city will be hosting different competitions. A colourful opening ceremony was held at the Balewadi sports complex on Tuesday,in which about 7,000 girls participated in the event. Matches will be played within two age groups,U-14 and U-19. In the throwball competition in the U-14 age group teams from Mumbai,Delhi,Jaipur,Ahmedabad,Dehradun,Chennai,Varanasi,Bengaluru and Ahmedabad progressed to the next round. In the U-19 competition,KV districts Lucknow,Chennai,Bhopal,Patna,Jabalpur,Mumbai,Dehradun,Sirsa and Ahmedabad progressed to the next round.

PYC Snooker Challenge to commence from 31 october

THE ninth edition of the PYC-ATC Snooker Challenge 2011 will begin on October 31 and go on till November 12. The event carries a total prize of Rs 2.50 lakh.