National U-18 Clay Court Tennis C’ship: Sisters Asmi, Vaishnavi storm into doubles final

Asmi and Vaishnavi Adkar, playing their first tournament as a doubles pair, beat fourth seeds Hannah Nagpal and Anjali Rathi to qualify for the final of women’s doubles. In singles, Tamil Nadu State champion Lakshmi Prabha crashed out in the quarterfinals.

Deadly duo: Asmi (left) and Vaishnavi Adkar are playing their first tournament as a doubles pair. | Photo Credit: Divyakriti Singh

It was the sisters’ day out at the 29th National Junior under-18 clay court Tennis Championship on Thursday. Two sister pairs were in action in women’s doubles at the SDAT Stadium in Egmore, Chennai.   

Abhaya and Apurva Vemuri from Telangana lost in the quarterfinals. The other pair — Asmi (14) and Vaishnavi Adkar (17) of Maharashtra who were playing their first tournament as a doubles pair — beat fourth-seeded duo of Hannah Nagpal and Anjali Rathi 6-2, 6-4 to book their place in Friday’s summit clash. They will face second seeds Ruma Gaikaiwari and Madhurima Sawant in an all-Pune final. 

Highlights of National Junior U-18 Clay Court Tennis Championship

• Day 6: Kriish Tyagi, Vaishnavi Adkar defeat top seeds to win singles titles
• Day 5: Madhurima-Ruma pair wins girls doubles title; Denim-Vansh champion in boys doubles
• Day 5: Kriish Tyagi to face Denim Yadav in singles final
• Day 4: Sisters Asmi, Vaishnavi storm into doubles final
• Day 3: Packed schedule on day three tests youngsters
• Day 2: Exit scare for fifth seed Madhurima; top seeds Suhitha, Vaishnavi through to pre-quarters
• Day 1: Daksh Prasad digs deep to reach second round
• Underarm serve, upsets, bad light and the drama of qualifying

Vaishnavi and Asmi had played doubles together during training at the Bounce Sports Academy in Pune but never professionally. The Maharashtrian duo’s debut in doubles almost did not happen as Asmi had already signed up with another player. “I asked if she wanted to play doubles with me. She said she had already paired up with someone else. I told her, ‘No, you’ll have to play with me, You, don’t have an option’,” said Vaishnavi, the elder sister. 

Perfect sync

Despite playing together for the first time, the duo looked in perfect sync. “Despite playing for the first time together, our coordination has been really good. There is a certain understanding between us,” said Vaishnavi. 

For the 17-year-old, reaching the doubles final was a double delight as earlier in the day, the second seed defeated eighth seed Sonal Patil 6-1, 6-4 to reach the semifinals in singles. 

On the other hand, for Lakshmi Prabha, Tamil Nadu State champion, it was a day to forget as the fourth seed lost her singles quarterfinal 2-6, 7-5, 0-6 to fifth seed Madhurima. Lakshmi, partnering Janani Ramesh, suffered heartbreak in doubles too, losing 6-2, 1-6, [8-10] to Madhurima and Ruma in the semifinal. 

In boys’ singles, second seed Daksh Prasad and third seed Aryan Arora were eliminated. While Daksh lost to sixth seed and U-16 national champion Kriish Tyagi, Aryan was beaten comprehensively by unseeded local boy Gagan Vimal. 

Doubles finals line-up

Boys: Vansh Nandal, HR, and Denim Yadav (1), MP, vs Kavin Karthik S and Rakshak Tarun V, TN

Girls: Asmi Nihar Adkar and Vaishnavi Adkar, MH, vs Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari and Madhurima Sangramsingh Sawant (2), MH

Singles semifinals line-ups

Boys: Denim Yadav (1), MP, vs Gagan Vimal, TN; Kriish Tyagi (6), KA, vs Rethin Pranav (9), TN

Girls: Suhitha Maruri (1), KA, vs Madhurima Sangramsingh Sawant (5), MH; Vaishnavi Adkar (2), MH, vs Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari (3), MH

Results

Boys’ singles

Quarterfinals: Denim Yadav (1), MP, def. Adhirit Awal, TN, 2-6 6-1 6-0; Gagan Rakesh Vimal, TN, def. Aryan Arora (3), PB, 6-2 6-2; Rethin Pranav R S (9), TN, def. Nishit Nilesh Rahane, MH, 7-5 6-0; Kriish Ajay Tyagi (6), KA, def. Daksh Prasad, MP, 7-6(4) 6-2.

Girls’ singles

Quarterfinals: Suhitha Maruri (1), KA, def. Anjali Rathi, HR, 6-4 6-3; Madhurima Sangramsingh Sawant, MH, def. Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar (4), TN, 6-2 5-7 6-0; Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari, MH, def. Hannah Nagpal (6), UP, 6-3 6-2; Vaishnavi Adkar, MH, def. Sonal Paygonda Patil (8), MH, 6-1 6-4 .

Boys’ Doubles

Semifinals: Vansh Nandal, HR, and Denim Yadav (1), MP, def. Deep Munim and Daksh Prasad, MP, 6-4 6-2; Kavin Karthik S and Rakshak Tarun V, TN, def. Aryan Arora, PB, and Skandha Prasanna Rao (2), KA, 6-3 6-4

Quarterfinals: Deep Munim and Daksh Prasad, MP, def. Rethin Pranav R S, TN, and Arjun Premkumar, KA, 6-7(6) 6-3 10-6; Aryan Arora, PB, and Skandha Prasanna Rao, KA, def. Adith Amarnath, KA, and Rian Sharma (2), DL, 6-1 6-4

Girls’ Doubles

Semifinals: Asmi Nihar Adkar and Vaishnavi Adkar, MH, def. Hannah Nagpal, UP, and Anjali Rathi (4), HR, 6-2 6-4; Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari and Madhurima Sangramsingh Sawant (2), MH, def. Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar and Janani Ramesh (3), TN, 6-2 1-6 10-8.

Quarterfinals: Asmi Nihar Adkar and Vaishnavi Adkar, MH, def. Shagun Kumari, UP, and Tamanna Panwar, HR, 6-0 6-0; Hannah Nagpal, UP, and Anjali Rathi (4), HR, def. Harleen Kaur Dhanda, PB, and Durganshi Kumar, DL, 6-4 6-3; Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar and Janani Ramesh (3), TN, def. Sreenidhi Balaji, KA, and Aarushi Mahenra Raval, GJ, 6-3 6-1; Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari and Madhurima Sangramsingh Sawant (2), MH, def. Abhaya Vemuri and Apurva Vemuri, TS, 6-2 6-2.