BHUBANESWAR 11-Nov-2012 325
Local favourite Chinmay Pradhan of Gurukul Tennis Academy lived upto his reputation as the No 1 tennis player of Odisha by winning the men`s open singles title in the KDTA Odisha Open Tournament, which concluded at Bhubaneswar Club here today. Top seed Pradhan, who is currently occupying the 54th position in the National rankings, beat his coach and second seed Santosh Mallik 6-2, 6-2 in the one-sided final to take home the top prize of Rs 8,000. Runner-up Mallik received Rs 4,000.
Experienced pair of Ajay Nishank and Satirtha Patnaik emerged champions in the men`s open doubles event, defeating giant-killers Lalit Dash and Vijay Avinandan in the hard-fought final 7-5, 6-3. The mixed doubles title, a speciality of Odisha Open, went to local combination of Shilpi Swarupa Das and Mohammad Raffique, who got the better of Nikki Gargi and Lalit Dash in the summit clash 10-9, 7-3.
Rabindra Senapati bagged a creditable `double` by winning both the titles in the veteran doubles categories. In the 40-plus final, Senapati and Rajpal Singh prevailed over Alok Pati and Rajesh Pattnaik 8-2. Senapati completed the double when he and partner Dushmant Kumar Tunga beat Bijoy Ketan Mishra and his elder brother Brahma Mishra 6-2 in the 50-plus title clash.
