Double crown for Saito; Nirundorn wins boys title at the ITF J3 Pune

Local girl Adkar falls short 

Third seeded  Sara Saito of Japan made her maiden visit to India memorable by winning singles and double title in the Gadre Marine MSLTA – ITF Junior Grade-3 U18 tennis Championships played at the Deccan Gymkhana Tennis Courts in Pune on Saturday.

In singles, Saito defeated local favourite, Vaishnavi Adkar 7-6(4), 6-0 in an hour and 55 minutes while in doubles partnering with Yu- Yun Li of from Taipei, duo defeated Aruzhan Sagandikova of Kazakhstan and Honoka Umeda of Japan 6-4, 6-1.

Among boys, third seeded Tanapatt Nirundorn from Thailand prevailed over top seeded Woobin Shin of Korea 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a rain interrupted final.

For both the winners it was their second ITF title. Saito had won the title in Croatia while Nirundorn had won the title in Montreal.

Singles winners Saito and Nirundorn got 100 ITF points while runner up Adkar and Shin got 60 ITF points.

Doubles winners got 75 ITF points and runner up got 45 ITF points

Saito overcame in-form Adkar with solid backhand and forehand winners along with aces to score victory in an hour and 55 minutes battle. Adkar led 4-0 and 5-2 in the first set before losing 11 games in a row .

“She (Adkar) is a very good player, I was not getting my rhythm when I was 0-4 down in the first four games, when I broke her in the fifth game, after that I got good momentum with my backhand and forehand shots. Along with it, I hit a few aces which helped me to score a victory,” said Saito.

“I liked the condition of the courts, it has very good and it’s fast . I enjoyed playing in a tournament here in Pune. All the facilities given by Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association in Pune – stay and food was very good. Now I will focus on giving good results in the next tournament,” added Saito.

Pune best city in India: Nirundorn

Nirundorn, who was visiting India for the third time, fell in love with Pune conditions.

“Before visiting Pune for the first time, I have visited Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru but conditions and hospitality in Pune were best so far. I am loving my stay here,” said Nirundorn.

Saito and Nirundorn both will now play in the B1 category  Aryan Pumps Asian Junior Tennis Championship at Deccan Gymkhana courts from today.

The Singles winner were awarded the late  MV Deo Trophy and 100 points, while runner up got 60 points. The doubles winner got 75 points and runner up received 45 points.

The prizes were given away at the hands of Mr.Suresh Yadav, Commissioner Income Tax, Mr.Sunder Iyer, Hon Secretary of MSLTA and Joint Secretary of AITA, Sandeep Kirtane Former Asian Junior Champion. Mr.Ashwin Jangam, General Manager of Gadre Marine,

Mr.Girish Inamdar, General Secretary of Deccan Gymkhana. Mr.Ashwin Girme, tennis secretary of Deccan Gymkhana, Mr.Mihir Kelkar, Finance Secretary of Deccan Gymkhana, Tournament supervisor Vaishali Shekatkar were present on the occasion.

Following are the results:

Singles: Girls: Final Round:
Sara Saito (JPN) [3] bt Vaishnavi Adkar(IND)  7-6(4), 6-0;

Boys:
Tanapatt Nirundorn(THA)[3] btCWoobin Shin(KOR)[1]  4-6, 6-2, 6-3;

Doubles: Boys: final Round:
Muni Ananth Mani (IND) / Rushil Khosla (IND) bt Max BATYUTENKO (KAZ) [3] / Artur KHAIRUTDINOV (KAZ) 4-6 6-2 [10-6]

Girls: Yu-Yun LI (TPE) / Sara SAITO (JPN) [1] bt Aruzhan SAGANDIKOVA (KAZ) [2] / Honoka UMEDA (JPN) 6-4 6-1