22-May-2009 118
Bhubaneswar boy Adwithiya Patnaik bagged his maiden National junior circuit tennis title by emerging champion in the under-14 singles event of the AITA Talent Series Tournament at Hyderabad today.
A product of Gurukul Tennis Academy, Adwithiya beat A L Anirudh (Andhra Pradesh) in the final 4-1, 4-2. He missed a double by going down in the doubles final. Andhra Pradesh duo of Yash Puri and Rishav defeated Adwithiya and his partner Affan Abdul Ahad (AP) 8-2.
‘‘The title triumph is a fitting reward for Kanha (Adwithiya) as he was working hard for the past two years,’’ said Santosh Kumar Mallik, the youngster’s coach.
A standard-VII student of Delhi Public School (Kalinga), Adwithiya is set to play his next tournament at the AITA Championship Series in Vijaywada starting at Vijaywada on May 25. He has also qualified for the main draw of a Championship Series tournament at Chandigarh and a Talent Series tournament at Vishakhapatnam.
