BHUBANESWAR 19-Jan-2014 338
Experienced campaigners Ajay Nishank and Satirtha Patnaik added yet another crown to their showcase by emerging men`s open doubles champions in the 1st Utkal Open Tennis Tournament at Kalinga Stadium here today. The duo saved match points to beat Ansu Bhuyan and Jayant Saxena 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 in the semifinals and then overcame Vivek Tibarewal and Santosh Mallik in the final in 2-1 sets.
Top seed Mahesh Mohapatra of Ace Base Tennis Resort bagged the under-12 boys` singles crown, outplaying second seed Pratyush Mohanty of SS Tennis Academy in the lop-sided final.
The three veterans` titles were claimed by combinations of Paresh Singh-Dayal Gangwar (40+), Ajay Sahoo-Ajay Mohapatra (50+) and Amar Mohanty-Arun Birla (60+). Title winners in 60+ veterans category received Rs 6,000, while champions in the other four categories were given Rs 8,000 each.
The two-day tournament, which carried a total prize fund of Rs 1.10 lakh, was organised by newly formed Ace Tennis Club. Around 250 players from different places of the state joined the tournament, which drew appreciation from players for its smooth management.
RESULTS (All finals):
U-12 boys singles: Mahesh Mohapatra bt Pratyush Mohanty 4-1, 4-2.
Men`s open doubles: Ajay Nishank-Satirtha Patnaik bt Vivek Tibarewal-Santosh Mallik 7-6 (2), 1-6, 10-3.
Fourty-plus veteran doubles: Paresh Singh-Dayal Gangwar bt Jhadeswar Das-Purna Pradhan 8-3.
Fifty-plus veteran doubles: Ajay Sahoo-Ajay Mohapatra bt R Viswanath-Paresh Nath 7-3.
Sixty-plus veteran doubles: Amar Mohanty-Arun Birla bt GR Das-Prabhat Buxi 8-5.
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PHOTO: Title winners (Left to right) Ajay Nishank, Mahesh Mohapatra and Satirtha Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on January 19, 2014.
