Pune, May 30:
India’s Megh Bhargav Patel, Akansha Bhan, Rhea Verma, Vaidehi Chaudari and under 16 national champion Tanisha Kashyap moved into the singles second round at the HCL Asian Junior Tennis Championship for boys and girls here today.
Gujarat’s Megh Bhargav Patel, ranked 516, created a ripple by ousting higher-ranked Chinese rival Tao Mu 2-6 6-4 6-4 in a match lasting 2 hours and 30 minutes to make it to the second round of boys’ singles.
In the girls’ event, third seed Akanksha Bhan faced a few anxious moments in the first set and then settled down to eliminate Xiaoxi Zhao of China 7-6(4) 6-4, 200th-ranked Vaidehi Chaudhari, seeded seventh, trounced Ayu Sugiyama of Japan 6-0 6-0 and no. 8 seed Rhea Verma overcame a fighting Jiho Shin of Korea, a qualifier, before winning 6-3 7-6(5).
Tanisha Kashyap continued her form from the last week to get past Shrivalli Rashmika Bhamidipaty 7-5 6-2 in an All- Indian tussle to make it to the round of 16.
Eight Indian girls and six Indian boys will be seen in action in the round of sixteen to be played tomorrow at MSLTA school of tennis in Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi.
Results: Boys singles (1st round): Akanit Pumjit (THA) bt Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli (Ind) 6-4 6-2; H O Denton(HKG) bt Prasanna Bagade (Ind)6-0 6-3; Kasidit Samrej (THA) bt Rishabh Sharda (Ind) 6-2 2-6 6-3; Megh Bhargav Patel (Ind) bt M U Tao (CHN) 2-6 6-4 6-4;
Girls singles (1st round): Sakura Hosogi (JPN) bt Yubrani Banerjee (Ind) 6-1 6-1; 4-Kuan Yi Lee (TPE) bt Muskan Gupta (Ind) 6-3 6-3; Tanisha Kashyap (Ind) bt Shrivalli Rashmika Bhamidi-paty (Ind) 7-5 6-2; Adithya Karunaratne (SRI) bt Tejasvi Kate (Ind) 6-1 6-2; 7-Vaidehi Chaudhari (Ind) bt Ayu Sugiyama (JPN) 6-0 6-0; 5-Mai Napatt Nirundorn (THA) bt Shivani Amineni (Ind) 6-3 2-6 7-6(2); Mana Kawamura (JPN) bt Shivani Manjanna (Ind) 6-3 6-1; 3-Akanksha Bhan (Ind) bt Xiaoxi Zhao (CHN) 7-6(4) 6-4; 8-Rhea Verma (Ind) bt Jiho Shin (KOR) by 6-3 7-6(5). (PTI)
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