BHUBANESWAR 13-Nov-2011 208
Farhan Ali defied age and fatigue to bag a double crown in the Odisha Open Tennis Tournament, which concluded here at Bhubaneswar Club today. Despite playing four matches on the final day, 34-year-old Ali showed mental toughness to emerge champion in men`s open singles and doubles categories. The former state champion overcame a second set drubbing to upset top seed Chinmay Pradhan in the singles final, via super tie-break.
Earlier in the doubles title clash, Ali and Satirtha Patnaik, also a former state champion, played vintage tennis to quell the youthful challenge of Chinmay Pradhan and Vijay Avinandan 10-4. Ajay Nishank and Komal Vishakha won the mixed-doubles title, edging out Adwithya Patnaik and Tanmayee Patnik in the hard-fought final, which was eventually decided in the super tie-break.
Rabindra Senapati too bagged a double by winning titles in 40 and 50 plus veteran doubles categories with Rajpal Singh and P K Mishra respectively as his partners.
Planning and Coordination Minister A U Singhdeo handed over the trophies and cash prizes in the presence of host Khurda District Tennis Association (KDTA) president Madhusudan Padhi. Around 250 players from across the state participated in the three-day tournament, which carried a total prize fund of Rs 70,000.
Host KDTA officials faced a bit of embarrassment at the closing function as Chinmay Pradhan expressed his openly annoyance over over the punishing schedule and priority to guests and veteran players. ``It is disappointing that after the arrival of the chief guest, the third set men’s singles final reduced to super tie-break. This decision proved that the guest is greater than the game,’’ he pointed out.
Though his words came as a shock for the organizers, fellow players unanimously agreed that Pradhan was telling the truth. KDTA president Padhi, however, took Pradhan’s complains in right spirit and assured things will be better in the next edition of the tournament.
RESULTS:
Men`s singles semifinals: Chinmay Pradhan bt Santosh Mallick 10-8, Farhan Ali bt Adwithya Patnaik Deepak Nayak 10-6. Final: F Ali bt C Pradhan 6-3, 06, 10-5.
Men`s doubles: Semifinals: Chinmay Pradhan-Vijay Avinandan bt Surjiban Behera-Sobhan Patnaik 9-5, Farhan Ali-Satirtha Patnaik bt Santosh Mallik-Partha Sarathi Hansdah 9-3. Final: F Ali-S Patnaik bt C Pradhan-V Avinandan 10-4.
Mixed doubles semifinals: Ajay Nishank-Komal Vishakha bt Surjiban Behera-Ritika Nath 8-5, Adwithya Patnaik-Tanmayee Patnaik bt Prakash Muduli-Koyal Mishra 8-1. Final: A Nishank-K Vishakha bt A Patnaik-T Patnaik 7-5, 5-7, 10-8.
40+ Veteran doubles semifinals: Rajpal Singh-Rabindra Senapati bt Tanmay Mishra-Jhadeswar Das 8-2, Ajay Sahu-BN Mohanty bt V Raman-SS Rath 8-2. Fianl: R Singh-R Senapati bt A Sahu-BN Mohanty 8-3.
50+ Veteran doubles semifinals: PK Mishra-Rabindra Senapati bt BN Mohanty-Akhila Das 8-3, BK Mishra-BN Mishra bt Dillip Behera-PK Bakshi 8-4. Final: PK Mishra-R Senapati bt BK Mishra-BN Mishra 6-4, 6-1.
60+ Veteran doubles semifinals: GR Das-DK Naik bt MV Rao-Mansingh Ho 8-6, PK Pradhan-Rabindra Mohapatra bt PK Kar-SN Das 8-5. Final: GR Das-DK Naik bt PK Pradhan-R Mohapatra 8-3.
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PHOTO: Title winners (Left to right) Farhan Ali, Satirtha Patnaik, Ajay Nishank and Komal Vishakha at the Odisha Open Tennis Tournament in Bhubaneswar on Nov 13, 2011.
