Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau
The semifinal matches of the Lawn Tennis event at the 38th National Games have concluded, setting the stage for an exciting final. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu secured their spots in the men’s final, while Maharashtra and Gujarat advanced to the women’s title clash.
Karnataka booked its place in the men’s final after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Services. In the Men’s Singles 2 match, Services’ Rishabh Agarwal triumphed over Karnataka’s Niki K. Poonacha 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. However, Karnataka bounced back as Prajwal Dev outplayed Services’ Ishaq Iqbal 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the Men’s Singles 1 match. The decisive Men’s Doubles match saw Karnataka’s Prajwal Dev and Niki K. Poonacha defeat Services’ Rishabh Agarwal and Faizal Qamar 6-3, 6-4, sealing their team’s victory.
Tamil Nadu secured its place in the final after a thrilling 2-1 win against Maharashtra. The Men’s Singles 2 match saw Maharashtra’s Arnav Vijay Papa edge out Tamil Nadu’s Abhinav S. Sanjeev by 3-6, 6-7 (3). Tamil Nadu responded strongly, with Manish Suresh Kumar dominating Maharashtra’s Prasad Vijaykumar Ingle 6-1, 6-2 in the Men’s Singles 1 match. The final Men’s Doubles match turned out to be a nail-biter, where Tamil Nadu’s Lohith Aksh Bathrinath and Manish Suresh Kumar prevailed over Maharashtra’s Prasad Vijaykumar Ingle and Sandesh Dattatray Kurle 6-2, 6-7 (1), (10-6), securing a place in the title clash.
Maharashtra put up an impressive show in the women’s semifinals to defeat Tamil Nadu by 2-0. In the Women’s Singles 2, Akanksha Nitture of Maharashtra outplayed Diya Ramesh of Tamil Nadu, winning 7-5, 6-4, and in Women’s Singles 1, Vaishnavi Adkar from Maharashtra sealed the victory by beating Lakshmiprabha Arunkumar from Tamil Nadu in a close encounter, with scores of 7-6(6), 6-3.
Gujarat entered the final for women with a brilliant 2-0 win against Haryana. Jheel Desai opened the account for Gujarat with a win over Anjali Rathi of Haryana in the Women’s Singles 2, winning with scores of 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(1), while Vaidehi Chaudhari sealed the final spot for Gujarat with a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 victory over Haryana’s Aditi Rawat in Women’s Singles 1.
With Karnataka taking on Tamil Nadu in the men’s categories and Maharashtra clashing against Gujarat in the women’s final, a fierce battle lies ahead. With all four teams competing for championship glory, this promises to be a very closely contested match.
