Akshat, Sejal, Kashit, Riddhima triumph

Nagpur, Nov 21

Akshat Dakshindas along with Sejal Bhutada, Kashit Nagrale and Riddhima Shaw triumphed in their respective categories in Nagpur District Lawn Tennis Tournament 2021 at the MSLTA Tennis Academy in Ramnagar on Sunday.

In the Under-14 boys final, local favourite Akshat Dakshindas was given an eye to eye by his opponent Aryan Goyal, who is new to Nagpur having come from Rajasthan, and both fought from the baseline. Some drop shots were seen earning them points, otherwise both did some power hitting. Akshat however was a shade better than Aryan today and won the match 4-2, 4-2 to bag the crown.

In the Under-14 girls final, much-fancied star player Sejal Bhutada breezed past her opponent Mishka Tayade 4-0, 4-0 in a matter of 30 minutes by playing her best shots and without dropping even one serve. Sejal has matured as a tournament player with her vast experience in playing at Hyderabad and Raipur recently. She is poised for a bright future in tennis.

In the second final, Boys U-17 category, Kashit Nagrale faced resistance from Tejal Pal, as both had worked hard to reach this stage. However, this match turned upside down and soon became a one sided affair with Kashit raising his level so high that Tejal could not match his power hitting, and easily folded the match with a 4-0, 4-0 win.

In the Under-17 girls final Riddhima Shaw and Omshree Prasad were neck to neck in the first set that went into tie-break. Neither was willing to lose a point and fought hard to end the match in favour of Riddhima with the score reading 7-5, 4-2.

Earlier, veteran coach Santosh Chatterjee wished the players and gave a word of advice. He asked them to give their best and play to win. Famous photographer Subodh Sathe greeted the girls finalists, and the visitors gallery was full of parents and players eager to catch the action. In the prize distribution function, senior cricket and tennis administrator Rajan Nair gave away the trophies and certificates to the winners, runners-up and semifinalists. Vijay Naidu, Tournament Director, conducted the function and also proposed a formal vote of thanks. Tournament Supervisor Vishal Landge conducted the tournament extremely well. The next tournament will be conducted next weekend 27 and 28 November for Men's and Women's category (18 years and above). The registration for the event will be done on November 26at the venue.