Aishwarya defies odds

PUNE, Feb 23: ``They need to adopt more power play, only then will the ladies competition see some challenging ties,'' commented a passer...

PUNE, Feb 23: “They need to adopt more power play, only then will the ladies competition see some challenging ties,” commented a passerby after seeing the proceedings in the girls events at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana courts during the ongoing Hero-Honda Masters junior tennis tournament.

His intention definitely was not to hurt the game’s spirit but the remark highlighted the lack of excitement, usually borne out of speed, from a spectator’s point of view.

And justifying his comment, a majority of the matches played today were restricted to baseline action with seeded players winning without much sweat.

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However, one player managed to make an impression despite such odds — Kolhapur’s Aishwarya Jadhav. The little known lass, even if not playing an aggressive game, certainly gave a hint or two about the sport having reached the grassroots even to places away from the centre of action such as Mumbai and Pune, and to the common public. A healthy sign which signals a good future for tennis, and which was evident when unseeded Aishwarya defeated her Mumbai rival Jinal Zhaveri 9-2 in the girls U-12 section. She thus becomes the first entry besides the Pune and Mumbai players to advance into the quarter-final stage.

Girls u-10: Neeraja Hingane (Pune) bt Anuja Bagal (Pune) 8-0; Parija Maloo (Khamgao) bt Devika Chivale (Pune) 8-1; Nikita Atal (Pune) bt Rosika Sankpal (Pune) 8-0; Sonia Patwardhaan (Pune) bt Vaidehi Patil (Pune) 8-3; Roshni Luthra (Mumbai) bt Shweta Marathe (Pune) 8-2; Sayali Phathaak (Pune) bt Mihika Karve (Pune) 8-6.
Girls u-12: Nidhi Shah (Mumbai) bt Gayatri Pawar (Pune) 9-2; Sagarika Phadke (Pune) bt Preeti Sathe (Pune) 9-5; Tilsi Mehta (Mumbai) bt Pankti Chheda (Mumbai) 9-3; Aishwarya Jadhav (Kolhapur) bt Jinal Zhaveri 9-2; Kanisha Shaah a(Pune) bt Mughda Barve (Pune) 9-0; Shraddha Lodha (Pune) bt Kimaya Karve (Pune) 9-1.
Girls u-14: Priyanka Metha (Pune) bt Nancy Jharna (Mumbai) 9-1; Soumya Kowtha bt Nandita Paranjpe (Sangli) 9-1; Namrata Bhosale (Pune) bt Ekta Shah (Pune) 9-4; Uttara Rao (Mumbai) bt Neha Sane (Pune) 9-0; AIsha Lakhaani (Mumbai) bt Jaai ACahaaitanis (Pune) 9-1.
Girls u-16: Avanee Gokhale (Pune) bt Preeti Bhatiya (Pune) 9-8 (7-3).

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