Date:21/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/21/stories/2008122155351800.htm

Sport - Tennis

Ratnika Batra in second round

NEW DELHI: National champion Ratnika Batra defeated wild card entrant Likitha Shetty 6-0, 6-2 in the first qualifying round of the $50,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Saturday.

Shivika Burman beat the seventh-seeded Prerna Myhri 7-6(5), 6-4, but will run into Chinese Zheng Jun-Yi who beat Sonal Phadke for the loss of three games.

Former national junior champion, Prerna Bhambri gave a good account of herself before going down 1-6, 6-4, 3-6 to Romana Tabakova of Slovakia.

Shalini Sahoo, Parija Maloo, Vishakha Sheoran, Garima Vatwani, Smriti Joon were the other Indian players to book their second round berths in the qualifying event.

Meanwhile, the wild cards for the main draw were given to, Rushmi Chakravarthi, Shikha Uberoi, Paarul Goswami and Poojashree Venkatesh.

Only Ankita Bhambri and Sanaa Bhambri have got direct acceptance into the main draw on the basis of their ranking, among the Indians.