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Tennis
An easy win for Tushar Liberhan
Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, DEC. 22. Top-seeded Tushar Liberhan defeated the gangling Nihal Advani 6-1, 6-4 for the under-16 title in the DSCL National sub-junior tennis championship at the DLTA Complex here on Saturday.
The 15-year-old Chandigarh lad, a student of St. John's School, was consistent and crafty in overcoming the big serving game of the unseeded Maharashtra boy, who impressed with his backhand down the line winners. The latter was unable to put his serves to good use and was broken too often to be able to make a meaningful challenge.
The contest looked to be hotting up in the second set, when the 6'1'' tall Nihal played with determination to be up 4-3. But an erratic game saw him losing his way. He failed to capitalise on a breakpoint in the 10th game after getting broken in the ninth in which he had held a gamepoint.
Nihal, with considerable potential to make the grade in the years to come, saved a matchpoint before returning long. Nihal's erratic volleying was another factor that helped the easy-stroking Tushar make it a straight-forward affair.
The title was a welcome addition to Tushar who had won the National under-14 title two years ago in Chennai.
There was some fight in the under-14 final, but the unseeded J. Vishnu Vardhan put his big game to good use in clinching the title ahead of fourth-seed Sumeet Prakash Gupta. Vishnu served five aces in his 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 victory. He lost his way some after a resounding start, regrouped and then hit winners with considerable relish to clinch the decider. He wrested the initiative after an initial exchange of breaks.
It was a day of triumphs for left-handers in the girls section. Sanaa Bhambri and Kartiki Bhat, two of the best in the age-group, won the under-16 and under-14 titles respectively.
The fourth-seeded Sanaa served and stroked with confidence to beat top-seed Parul Goswami, who was able to match her opponent in rallies but not in executing winners. Sanaa won 6-1, 6-4 after being down 1-4 in the second set.
Second-seed Kartiki played a fluent game to defeat top-seed Sandri Gangotri in 55 minutes. The bespectacled Kartiki has been playing at her best in this tournament after being beaten by Sanaa in the under-16 section, and it was no surprise that she proved to be too hot for Gangotri.
The boys winners collected Rs. 8,000 each and runners- up were given Rs. 5,000. The girls winners were presented Rs. 5,000 each and runners-up Rs. 3,000.
The results (finals): Boys: Under-16: Tushar Liberhan bt Nihal Advani 6-1, 6-4. Under-14: J. Vishnu Vardhan bt Sumeet Gupta 6-0, 2- 6, 6-2.
Girls: Under-16: Sanaa Bhambri bt Parul Goswami 6-1, 6-4. Under-14: Kartiki Bhat bt Sandri Gangotri 6-3, 6-1.
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