Tennis
Aahan, Samarth win junior titles at Fenesta Open National Championship
Aahan played a gruelling final in Under-16 that lasted more than three hours and defeated Maharashtra’s Aishwarya Jadhav 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
Ahan of Odisha and Samarth Sahita of Gujarat won girls' and boys' singles titles at the National Tennis Championship in New Delhi. (Photo credit: Special Arrangement)
Odisha’s Aahan won the singles titles in the girls Under-16 and Under-14 categories while Gujarat’s Samarth Sahita claimed the trophy in the boys singles Under-16 category at the 29th Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship held at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Saturday.
Aahan played a gruelling final in Under-16 that lasted more than three hours and defeated Maharashtra’s Aishwarya Jadhav 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 before beating Parthsarthi Mundhe of Maharastra 6-4, 6-3 in the Under-14 final. On the other hand, Samarth beat Kerala’s Karan Thapa 6-3, 6-4 in the Under-16 final.
Aahan started the final match against Aishwarya on a positive note and won the first two games to take the lead. However, the Maharashtra player came roaring back and won five games in a row to get ahead in the final.
Aahan then brought her A game to the court and clinched the next five games in a row to get the first set. Aishwarya looked in complete control of the following set before Aahan notched up the final set with a five-game margin.
In the boys singles Under-16 final, Samarth carried forward his momentum and took a quick lead before winning the first set. The second set saw Karan breaking Samarth’s serve but the Gujarat made a fine comeback and won the final.
The boys singles Under-14 title went to Raghav Sarode of Maharashtra, who defeated top seed Aaradhya Mhasde 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in a thrilling three-set final.
Besides the trophies, the winners were awarded prize money with a total prize pool of over Rs 21.55 Lakh and Kit Allowance in the junior categories were up for grabs. The winners and runners-up in the U16 and U14 singles events also received a Tennis scholarship of Rs 25,000 each.
Tournament is supported by DCM Shriram Limited and recognised by the All India Tennis Association and Delhi Lawn Tennis Association.
The tournament has seen the participation of some of India’s top tennis stars in the past editions including Rohan Bopanna, Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Sania Mirza and Rutuja Bhosale among many others.
