Gaurav, Priti win

PUNE, Dec 23: Christmas gifts in the form of titles came the way of Gaurav Ganpule, Akash Wagh, Priti Bhatia, Priti Sathe, Neeraja Hingan...

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PUNE, Dec 23: Christmas gifts in the form of titles came the way of Gaurav Ganpule, Akash Wagh, Priti Bhatia, Priti Sathe, Neeraja Hingane, Kalyan Sudarshan and Amit Phadke in their respective age groups at the RCBC junior tennis tournament, here today.

In the finals played today, Saloni Shah of Success Tennis Academy defeated midget Sana Sohoni of PYC Gymkhana 7-2 to lift the girls under-8 crown. Left-handed Akash Wagh of Deccan Gymkhana overcame teammate Rohit Shinde 10-3 to lift his first career title in the boys under-8 group.

Gutsy Neerja Hingane of Prudential Coaching won the girls under-10 event putting out Mihika Karve, the bespectacled Deccan Gymkhana player, 9-2. Even though the score line suggested an easy win for Hingane both the players fought tooth and nail for every point.

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In the boys under-10 event chubby Gaurav Ganpule of SP College outmaneuvered a fighting Shreyas Kulkarni of Prudential 10-5 for his first career title.

Kalyan Sudarshan, normally an under-10 player, won his first under-12 career title when he defeated V Vikas of Prudential 10-3 in a match full of base line rallies. Preeti Sathe of PYC Gymkhana also won her first career title lifting the girls under-12 title after putting out tiny Gayatri Pawar of SP College 10-2.

Priti Bhatia won the girls under-14 crown scraping past Jui Chitnis 10-8 in the toughest match of the day. Meanwhile in the boys event the bespectacled Amit Phadke outplayed Prasad Bokil 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), to win the boys under-14 event. Phadke played intelligently to make Bokil run all over the court. It was Phadke’s first career title.

Results (all finals)
Boys Under-14: Amit Phadke (Prudential) bt Prasad Bokil (SP College) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
Boys Under-12: Kalyan Sudarshan (Star Tennis) bt V Vikas (Prudential) 10-3.
Boys Under-10: Gaurav Ganpule (SP College) bt Shreyas Kulkarni (Prudential) 10-5.
Boys Under-8: Akash Wagh (Deccan Gymkhana) bt Rohit Shinde (Deccan Gym) 10-3.
Girls Under-14: Priti Bhatia (PYC) bt Jui Chitnis 10-8.
Girls Under-12: Priti Sathe (PYC) bt Gayatri Pawar (SP College) 10-2.
Girls Under-10: Neeraga Hingane (Prudential) bt Mihika Karve (Deccan Gym) 9-2.
Girls Under-8: Saloni Shah (Fergusson College) bt Sana Sohoni (PYC) 7-2.