Maharashtra’s Rian Pandole marched into the semi-finals of the boy’s under-16 singles event of the Babolat 8th Ramesh Desai National Championship for boys’ and girls’ under-16 and under-12, being organized by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA).
The lanky Mumbai boy, firing on all cylinders scored an authoritative 6-1, 6-1 victory against eighth seed Nitin Kumar Sinha of West Bengal in a quarter-final match played in the sweltering afternoon heat at the MSLTA courts on Thursday.
Pandole, who had sent out top seed Nikshep BR in the previous round on Wednesday, asserted his dominance from the beginning and called the shots throughout. In the first he broke Sinha’s service in the fourth and sixth games while holding his service games to win the set. He continued to hold sway in the second and had three breaks in the third, fifth and seventh games to clinch the win.
“I had a good match. I played aggressively from the first point and did not allow him (Sinha) to get into the match,” Pandole said after his triumph.
The Mumbai lad also pointed that he adapted better to the hot conditions. “It was very hot out there and Sinha tired out in the conditions, which worked in my favour,” said Pandole, who next meets another unseeded player Chandigarh’s Param Pun, who scored an upset win over sixth seed Shrey Gupta of Haryana winning at 6-2, 6-1.
Punjab’s second seed Paramveer Singh Bajwa is the only player among the top eight to make the semis.
He defeated Sumit Pal Singh of Jammu and Kashmir 6-4, 7-5 to set up a semi-final meeting with unseeded Siddanth Banthia of Mahrashtra. Banthia defeated Tamil Nadu’s Manish S. 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
In the girl’s under-16 competition, top seed Abinikka R. of Tamil Nadu continued her good form and breezed to another facile win defeating Punjab’s Sarah Dev 6-1, 6-1, without much ado.
Third seed Mikha Yadav of Maharashtra also enjoyed a good outing she strolled to a 6-3, 6-0 win against an uncharacteristic Jennifer Luikham of Haryana to seal her place in the last four round.
Quarter-final results – Girls’ under-16 singles: 1-Abinikka R. (TN) bt Sarah Dev (PB) 6-1, 6-1; Prinkle Singh (JK) bt 4-Himani Mor (HR) 6-1, 6-0; 3-Mihika Yadav (MH) bt 7-Jennifer Luikham (HR) 6-3, 6-0; Mahak Jain (MH) bt 8-Sathwika Sama (AP) 6-4, 6-3.
Boys’ under-16 singles: Rian Pandole (MH) bt 8-Nitin Kumar Sinha (WB) 6-1, 6-1; Param Pun (CH) bt 6-Shrey Gupta (HR) 6-2, 6-1; Siddhant Banthia (MH) bt Manish S. (TN) 6-4, 6-3; 2-Paramveer Singh Bajwa (PB) bt Sumit Pal Singh (JK) 6-4, 7-5.
Girls’ under-12 singles: 1-Sarah Dev (PB) bt Sanya Singh (MH) 6-1, 6-0; 3-Shreya Gulia (HR) bt Rachana Reddy S (AP) 6-0, 6-3; Gauri Sanjay Bhagia (MH) bt Kiran Kalkal (DL) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1; 7-Bhakti Parwani (GJ) bt 2-Mubashira Anjum Shaik (AP) 6-4, 7-5.
Boys’ under-12 singles: Divesh Gahlot (HR) bt Krish Patel (GJ) 6-4, 7-5; Adarsh Naga Tippabhatla (AP) bt 4-Neel Garud (MP) 6-2, 6-4; 7-Terrance Das (TN) bt 3-Boopathy S. (TN) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; 2-Dev V. Javia (GJ) bt Gaurav Kurva (AP) 6-4, 6-3.