Indian players ease into semifinals of all five events in South Asian Games tennis
Saketh Myneni, Manish Sureshkumar, Sowjanya Bavisetti and Sathwika Sama dropped six games between them in reaching the singles semifinals of the men’s and women’s events in the South Asian Games tennis in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Friday.
Top seeds Saketh and Sowjanya blanked their opponents, and only Sathwika had some fight from Ushna Suhail of Pakistan whom she beat for the loss of five games.
In men’s doubles, Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan set up a semifinal against Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan. Second seeds Vishnu Vardhan and Saketh Myneni also reached the semifinals to face another Pakistan pair of Muhammad Abid and Muzammil Murtaza.
Sravya Shivani and Bhuvana Kalva will play the women’s doubles semifinals against the Nepalese team of Prerana Korala and Saloni Tamang. Third seeds Prerna Bhambri and Prarthana Thombare will play another Nepalese team of Abhilasha Bista and Ira Mehemissa Rawat which beat Pakistan’s Sarah Mahboob Khan and Mahin Aftab Qureshi 13-11 in the super tie-break.
In the mixed semifinals, Prarthana Thombare and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan were set to play Ushna suhail and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan. The second seeds Sowjanya Bavisetti and Sriram Balaji were to play another Pakistani pair of Sara Mansoor and Muhammad Abid.
The results (quarterfinals):
Men: Saketh Myneni bt John Tivanka Dissanayake (SRI) 6-1, 6-1; Muzammil Murtaza (PAK) bt Pranab Khanal (NEP) 6-0, 6-1; Aqeel Khan (PAK) bt Tandin Wangchuk (BHU) 6-1, 7-5; Manish Sureshkumar bt Samrajkshyak Bajracharya (NEP) 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles: Sriram Balaji & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt John Tivanka Dissanayake & Dineshkanthan Thangarajah (SRI) 6-1, 6-1; Aqeel Khan & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt Samrakshyak Bajracharya & Pranab Khanal (NEP) 6-1, 6-2; Muhammad Abid & Muzammil Murtaza (PAK) bt S Atukorale & Y De Silva (SRI) 6-1, 6-2; Vishnu Vardhan & Saketh Myneni bt Faruk Hossan & Sree Amol Roy (BAN) 6-0, 6-2.
Women: Sowjanya Bavisetti bt Saloni Tamang (NEP) 6-0, 6-0; Anika Chloe Senerirante (SRI) bt Mahin Aftab Qureshi (PAK) 6-2, 7-6(4); Prerna Koirala (NEP) bt Zeina Abdul Rasheed (MDV) 7-5, 6-1; Sathwika Sama bt Ushna Suhail (PAK) 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles: Sravya Shivani Chilakalapudi & Bhuvana Kalva bt Janalikawya Manamperi & Alana NOrah Seneviratne (SRI) 6-0, 6-1; Prerana Koirala & Saloni amang (NEP) bt Susmita Sen & Rinvy Akther Treepty (BAN) 6-3, 6-3; Prerna Bhambri & Prarthana Thombare bt T Kurera & V Wijesooriya (SRI) 6-1, 6-1; Abhilasha Bista &Ira Mehemissa Rawat (NEP) bt Sarah Mahboob Khan & Mahin Aftab Qureshi (PAK) 6-2, 2-6, [13-11].
Mixed doubles: Prarthana Thombare & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt S Jayasuriya & S Atukorale (SRI) 6-1, 6-2; Ushna Suhail & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt Abhilasha Bista & Pradip Khadka (NEP) 6-4, 6-0; Sara Mansoor & Muhammad Abid (PAK) bt Anika Chloe Senerirante & Dineshkanthan Thangarahaj (SRI) 6-0, 6-0; Sowjanya Bavisetti & Sriram Balaji bt Ira Mehemissa Rawat & Santosh Khatri (NEP) 6-0, 6-1.
(Courtesy: The Hindu)
