BHUBANESWAR 25-Apr-2014 309
High-flying Odisha boy Mahesh Mohapatra added yet another feather to his cap by achieving a double crown in the AITA Super Series Under-12 Tennis Tournament at Sania Mirza Tennis Academy in Hyderabad today.
A trainee of Bhubaneswar-based Ace Base Tennis Academy, Mahesh won both the singles and doubles title to brighten his prospect of reaching the top of the under-12 National rankings. If successful he will be the first tennis player from Odisha to become India No 1 in any category.
Coach Ajay Kumar Nishank is optimistic that his protege Mahesh would be India No 1 in the updated rankings to be release by AITA in a week or so. ``Currently Mahesh is at the No 2 position with 295.25 ranking points to his name. He stands to gain more than 300 points from the three major tournaments he played this month. That should be enough to make him India No 1,`` said Nishank.
In the Hyderabad Super Series, pint-sized Mahesh claimed the singles title, defeating Aaryan Mehul Zaveri of Madhya Pradesh in the final 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Earlier in the semifinals, second seed Mahesh prevailed over third seed S Boopathi of Tamil Nadu in 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
Partnering with Boopathi, Mahesh captured the double title with a hard-fought 5-7(3), 6-4,10-8 victory against Aaryan Zaveri and Dev V Zavia (Gujarat). Earlier in the semifinals, the Mahesh-Bhupati combo got the better of Krish Patel (Gujarat) and Asav Kumar (Chandigarh) 6-3, 6-4.
The Odisha boy reached Hyderabad in excellent form and clinched the double by putting up dominating performance. Earlier this month, he won the singles title and finished doubles runners-up in a super series tournament at Chandigarh and followed it with a doubles title and a last-four singles berth in a nation series event at Bangalore.
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PHOTO: Mahesh Mohapatra with his trophies in Hyderabad on April 25, 2014.
