BERHAMPUR 26-Jan-2011 234
Bhubaneswar duo Avilash Mishra and Abhilipsa Rath won the boys’ and girls’ singles titles respectively in the AITA Under-14 Talent Series Tennis Tournament, which concluded here at Union Club today. Top seed Avilash thrashed his training-mate Nishant Kumar of Orissa Tennis Academy in the final, which was marked by debatable line-calls, frayed tempers and frequent interruptions. Avilash went on to bag a double, winning the boys’ doubles crown with Nishant Kumar as partner.
In the girls’ singles final, third seed Abhilipsa quelled the challenge of fellow Kendriya Vidyalaya student Komal Vishakha, but not before being stretched to the third set. A protégé of coach Lalit Das, unseeded Komal earlier caused the biggest upset of the three-day tournament by eliminating top seed Jayati Sharma of Assam in the semifinals in straight sets.In other semifinal, Abhilipsa fought back from a set down to defeat second seed Koyal Mishra.
Title winners gained 15 National ranking points each, while the losing finalists became richer by 12 points each. Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi presented trophies and gifts at the closing function. Host Ganjam District Tennis Association president K Milan Kumar Patro, tournament director Arjun Swain, Orissa Tennis Association vice-president Jitendra Choudhury and organizing secretary Uma Shankar Padhy were present on the occasion.
