Shanker and Rishitha claim National under-16 titles

The newly crowned National sub-junior champions (from left), Hruthik Katakam (under-14), Shanker Heisnam (u-16), Rishitha Basireddy (u-16) and Prisha Shinde (u-14) in New Delhi on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: Kamesh Srinivasan

Shanker Heisnam played a crafty all-court game to outwit V. Thirumurugan 6-1, 6-2 in the under-16 boys final of the Fenesta National sub-junior tennis championship at the DLTA Complex on Saturday.

The left-hander Thirumurugan had the game, but not the consistency to trouble his athletic opponent.

Rishitha Basireddy was equally efficient in taming Aishi Bisht 6-4, 6-3 for the under-16 girls title. Rishitha, who had endured four three-set matches along the way in a draw of 64, was quite sharp in the final to allow any room for a fight for her opponent.

Rishitha had saved match points and won from being 1-5 down in the decider against Harithashree Venkatesh in the quarterfinals.

The top seed in the under-14 boys event, the wiry Hruthik Katakam, proved a hard nut to crack for giant-killer Prakaash Sarran. Though Hruthik won 6-4, 6-3, it was a compliment to Prkaaash’s fighting ability as the latter had dropped only 10 games while winning the earlier five matches. He had also won the doubles title with Tavish Pahwa.

Prisha Shinde had little difficulty in winning the under-14 girls title against Anandita Upadhyay.

Saket Jain, business head of Fenesta, highlighted the commitment of DCM Shriram group to support tennis for more than three decades and presented the trophies along with renowned coach Balram Singh.

The results (finals):

Under-16: Boys: Shanker Heisnam bt V. Thirumurugan 6-1, 6-2; Girls: Rishitha Basireddy bt Aishi Bisht 6-4, 6-3.

Under-14: Boys: Hruthik Katakam bt Prakaash Sarran 6-4, 6-3; Girls: Prisha Shinde bt Anandita Upadhyay 6-1, 6-2.