After making entry in the main draw Akshat, a 7th standard student of BVM,Civil Lines,Nagpur, displayed his consistency and prowess in all the main draw rounds of the tournament organised by the Madhya Pradesh Tennis Association.
The real challenge came in the quarter-finals when Akshat defeated the 2nd seed Aarush Jain from Madhya Pradesh in the match which extended to the third set. Akshat made full use of his powerful serves and ground strokes to win the cliff-hanger 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3.In semi-final Akshat defeated Pune’s (MH) Aashrit Majji 6-4 6-1 to enter is first ever singles AITA finals. The first set of the final was a keenly fought encounter with both the players refusing to give up in long rallies. It was after 4-4 that Akshat shifted the gears and finished the set by winning it 6-4. However, the tall and lanky Abdul showed grit after breaking Akshat’s serve and bounced back in the game by taking a 3-1 lead. With the aim to avoid match going in the decider set, Akshat made a quick come back by reducing unforced errors and levelled the set 3-3. Both the players started displaying immense technical skill and mental tenacity but Akshat finally raced ahead to clinch the second set 6-4. He paired with Vihaan Tarkunde for doubles event and the duo were knocked out in semi-finals by Ayushmaan Garg/Samarth Bhargava 4-6 5-7.
Akshat trains in Gondwana and Ladies’ Club,Nagpur and gives the credit for his performance to his coach Santosh Chaterjee, trainer physio Mohammed Shoeb and Nagpur District Hardcourt Tennis Association(NDHTA).